Glen Taylor has repeatedly looked into selling the Timberwolves over the years.
Will he actually do it now?
Scott Soshnick of Sportico:The Minnesota Timberwolves are for sale.
Billionaire owner Glen Taylor has retained The Raine Group to sell the franchise he’s owned since 1995, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. There are several parties who have bid on the team, two of the people said. A deal could be completed within a month, one of the people said.
Forbes valued the Timberwolves at $1.375 billion. But that was before coronavirus upended the economy. A former state senator whose business and legacy are based in Minnesota, Taylor has also conditioned previous sales talks on the team staying in Minnesota, which could limit interested buyers. So, the sale price might land below the Forbes estimate.
Taylor bought the Timberwolves in 1995. In the 25 ensuing seasons, Minnesota has won just 43% of its games – the NBA’s third-worst mark (ahead of only the Nets and Grizzlies). The Timberwolves have won playoff series in only one season, advancing to the 2004 Western Conference finals. In the last 16 years, Minnesota has merely reached the postseason just once.
Even his critics have noted their personal respect for Taylor. Except Kevin Garnett. The Timberwolves’ greatest player is in a bitter feud with the owner and wants to buy the team.
Garnett on Instagram:
Garnett’s complaint stems from how Taylor handled Flip Saunders’ death. In some ways, it seems Garnett is being unfair about a difficult circumstance.
But there are plenty of other reasons to criticize Taylor, too.
Taylor has too often empowered faulty executives, most infamously David Kahn. Taylor gave Andrew Wiggins an ill-fated max-contract extension… only after Wiggins promised Taylor to work really hard. The organization devolved in recent years.
The Timberwolves just hired Gersson Rosas as team president, and he’s building around Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. A new owner could disrupt that plan, though Towns looks like a keeper in nearly any scenario.