Abdimalik Mohamed, sports editor
Over the past week, it has been confirmed that Glen Taylor, the owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, will not pursue further litigation and will hand the team over to the Minority Owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. The battle for these two franchises has been going on for a year now and for Minnesota sports fans it’s finally over. You’re probably wondering how this all came to be? Well, it’s pretty complicated.
Let’s start with Glen Taylor, a Minnesota born billionaire who made his money by owning Taylor Corporation, which is a large graphic communication company. The reason he bought the Timberwolves in 1994 was because the team was losing money and was on the verge of leaving for New Orleans. He is extremely passionate about Minnesota sports and didn’t want the team to relocate. On the flip side, since 1994, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been the worst franchise in North American history as it pertains to win percentage (39%) among the four major sports (NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB). That goodwill he had early on for saving the franchise burnt out over the years and the team became a laughingstock. The Lynx on the other hand have been uber successful and have won four titles in the past 15 years. He has been given some of the credit for it, but most people look at the job Cheryl Reeve has done as the head coach and have given her the majority of the credit.
Why did Taylor sell the two teams? The story goes that he has been looking to sell for many years going back to as early as 2012, but he couldn’t find a buyer that was willing to keep the team in Minnesota or have the necessary financial backing to sustain these teams. In 2020, Taylor once again put the team back up for sale in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and there were multiple bidders. According to ESPN, one of these bidders would move the team away from Minnesota. “One group approached Taylor recently and offered him more than $1 billion for the franchise, sources said, but wouldn’t agree to Taylor’s terms that the team remain in Minnesota,” stated ESPN. Franchise great Kevin Garnett publicly stated interest in buying the team, but it was considered a longshot considering that he and Taylor had a falling out after agreeing to a succession plan where Garnett and former coach Flip Saunders wouldn’t buy the team until Saunders succumbed to his battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2015. Garnett hasn’t forgiven Taylor to this day for that and the Timberwolves’ best player in franchise history still hasn’t had his jersey retired.
All in all, Rodriguez and Lore swooped in and bought the team in 2021. They made a deal that they had to pay for the team in increments. Taylor later renegotiated because the team got better and he had buyer’s remorse over selling a team for $1.5 billion that had a possible $3 billion price tag. But on Feb. 10, they won the arbitration hearing 2-1 and gained custody of both teams. Taylor gave up control of the team a week later. This was a good day for Minnesota sports fans and a hopeful one as well. Rodriguez and Lore have vowed to stay in Minnesota and continue building upon what is a great basketball community and I personally can’t wait.
This was a good day for Minnesota sports fans and a hopeful one as well. Rodriguez and Lore have vowed to stay in Minnesota and continue building upon what is a great basketball community and I personally can’t wait.
abdimalik mohamed