While not as ballyhooed as the recent sale of the Atlanta Dream to the ownership group that includes Renee Montgomery and two New England-based businesspeople, Glen Taylor’s impending sale of the Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves has always been a WNBA story that has lurked in the background.
It appears that story will soon come to a head as reports out of Minnesota have Alex Rodriguez and former Walmart executive Marc Lore are closing in on a deal that would assume ownership of the Lynx and T’Wolves from incumbent governor Glen Taylor.
Reports have the deal in the $1.5 billion range for both franchises and includes a provision where both teams would remain in Minnesota. Lore and Rodriguez would not assume majority control of the Lynx and Wolves until 2023.
Already, this has produced plenty of conversation among Lynx fans on the future of the franchise – including many wishing the team could be dealt in a separate deal which is unlikely to happen for now.
As for now, here are five things to look out for as the transition from Taylor to A-Rod and Lore plays out.
Out of Town Owners?
Lynx and Timberwolves fans cannot be happy about the idea of their beloved basketball teams being possibly sold to out of town owners. Sports fans (for good reason) prefer for the owners of their teams to be as rooted in the community as the franchise themselves. Alex Rodriguez never played for the Minnesota Twins throughout his MLB career – which spanned the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and, most notably, the New York Yankees.
For all of the flack Taylor has received over the years (much of it warranted), at least Taylor was a Minnesotan. The idea of New Yorkers running the Lynx and Timberwolves has to make plenty of fans in the Land of 10,000 Lakes very uneasy.
Lynx-Wolves Co-Branding
Cheryl Reeve has made it a point of emphasis in many of her media appearances to stress a big reason for the Lynx’s success aside from its on-court triumphs over the years.
In many of the Timberwolves’ off-court activities, the NBA franchise is always co-branded with the Lynx. The teams have an official Twitter account for its community service initiatives and it is branded as “Timberwolves & Lynx Social Responsibility.” Its youth basketball programs are branded as “Timberwolves & Lynx Basketball Academy.” Reeve herself once remarked that she believes the Lynx have the best facilities in the WNBA. That is because Taylor invests money from the Wolves into the Lynx. An October event that encouraged Minnesotans to vote was also co-branded.
One wonders how much of this will continue under the new owners. What should give Lynx fans pause is Reeve (and Carley Knox, the Lynx’s Vice President of Business Operations) still being part of the organization. Reeve was once referred to as the most powerful individual in Minnesota sports, so Reeve can be a much valuable glue that can guide the Lynx through this transition – and ensure the co-branding remains.
2023
Luckily for Lynx and Timberwolves faitful, A-Rod and the former Walmart (blech!) suit do not assume majority control of the franchises until 2023. This leaves open the door for plenty of questions to be asked of the incoming owners as well as Taylor regarding the future of both franchises – and to make sure Lore and Rodriguez understand “Whose House? (Our House!)” Minnesota is.
The incoming owners may want to tread very lightly on possibly crossing Lynx fans. That franchise has been a consistent winner throughout the years, especially during the Reeve era and has a fanbase that consistently has the Lynx near the top in WNBA attendance figures year in and year out. If Lore and Rodriguez think they can take even the slightest of measures that may tick off Lynx fans, they have another thing coming.
How Glen Taylor is viewed
There are two ways to view Lynx/Timberwolves boss Glen Taylor – either favorably or not so favorably. In WNBA circles, it is easy to view Taylor as a women’s basketball maverick who has put plenty of money and resources into making the Lynx the success they are today. After all, four championships do not lie.
On the other hand, Taylor can be viewed as a businessman only interested in dollar bills that does not exactly invest money. Also remember that Taylor owns Minnesota’s newspaper of record – the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
But there are those who make the strong case that, in the case of the Lynx, that Reeve is more responsible for the Lynx’s success than Taylor. Even though, there are not too many WNBA teams that are under the same umbrella as an NBA counterpart that are co-branded as part of community service and business initiatives.
Kevin Garnett
The Big Ticket’s icy cold relationship with Taylor, Lynx and Timberwolves boss, is one that has rubbed many of Minnesota hoops aficionados the wrong way given how Garnett used to be the face of a Timberwolves team that were consistent contenders through much of his tenure in the Twin Cities.
Garnett once referred to Taylor as a “snake” and said he did not want his jersey retired at Target Center while he was in charge. Perhaps that will change under Lore and Rodriguez assuming they close the deal for the Lynx and Wolves.
Taylor’s treatment of the late Flip Saunders was what particularly irked KG. Saunders was fired in 2005, then Garnett was to have a role in the Timberwolves organization in 2015 before Saunders’ death and Taylor using that as an escape hatch to push Garnett out.
Garnett was one of the suitors to buy the Lynx and Wolves from Taylor before he posted on his social media that he was out of the running. The idea of the franchise going to out-of-town owners over Garnett who gave his heart and soul to the Timberwolves franchise (and enjoyed living in Minnesota) is another part of the reported deal to Lore and A-Rod that will leave Lynx and Wolves fans with a sour taste in their mouths.
