Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor put the franchise up for sale.
The biggest name in the process? Kevin Garnett.
But others have deeper wallets, and that gets them to the front of the line.
Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic:
An investment group led by former Memphis Grizzlies minority owner Daniel E. Straus is in advanced discussions to buy the Timberwolves and Lynx from Taylor, sources told The Athletic.
Those sources added that Straus would keep the Timberwolves in Minneapolis, as Taylor has mandated for his sale.
Franchise icon Kevin Garnett has expressed an interest in putting together a group to buy the team, but he has not had formal discussions with Taylor to this point, sources said. Garnett is not involved with the Straus group, according to sources. Limited partner Meyer Orbach, for several years the presumed heir apparent to Taylor, was exploring putting a group together but also has yet to officially enter the fray, sources said. There are several other groups that have expressed interest, sources said.
This sounds like Taylor is trying to incite bids from other groups. Which makes me question how close a sale to Straus actually is.
Still, Straus appears to be in the lead. He previously owned a share of the Grizzlies. But Robert Pera bought out him and Steve Kaplan in 2018 as part of a buy-sell option.
Forbes valued the Timberwolves at $1.375 billion. But that was before coronavirus upended the economy. And before Minnesota landed the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, giving the team another prime asset with Karl-Anthony Towns.
