Less than 10 hours after one of the wildest Minnesota Timberwolves victory in franchise history, ESPN’s Sham Charania dropped the news that many Minnesotan sports fans had been hoping to see.
Just about a week earlier, there were rumblings of former Wolves and Lynx owner (*exhale*) Glen Taylor, age 83, potentially pursuing an appeal of the arbitration ruling from early February. The Athletic’s Jon Krawcynzski chimed in that it would have been a difficult process, but what hasn’t been difficult in this entire ownership transfer story? Any potential for things to get messy had absolutely come to fruition.
*in Jonathan Frakes’ voice* Not this time.
If Taylor’s surrender to the ruling wasn’t good enough, then Charania’s report detailing that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez would be acquiring 100% ownership should be. It was always going to be an awkward situation if Taylor were to remain as a limited partner after the drama that unfolded in the past year.
“We thought we were on good terms and we had a good relationship, and they were happy with all the time that we’ve put into the team to help get the team to where it is today… They seemed appreciative of that and then boom. It’s really like a nuclear bomb went off, completely unexpected and very, very disappointing.”
– Marc Lore via The Athletic
The process now moves forward into the NBA board of governors vote. Some speculators feared Glen Taylor’s influence with the BOG, who he was once the chairman of, would impact whether or not the final sale would be approved. However, Krawcynzski reports that “all sides believe that is just matter of course. Approval is expected. This will all go forward.”
So, what now?
It’s fair for fans to have some reservations about a new ownership group. As if a dog was getting adopted from an elderly, at many times ineffective, yet loyal owner, there’s going to be some trepidation if the new owner doesn’t just treat them like a shiny new toy, just to eventually get bored and send them off to another home.
Relocation doesn’t seem to be in the cards, but will they have the actual money to effectively invest in the Wolves and Lynx? Will they even start showing they care about the Lynx, who just made the WNBA Finals? Are they just trying to build the teams up just to flip them again? I even detailed some of my personal wishes for a new ownership group a few years ago.
That said, however faithful the previous owner was, there’s enough of a history to show that it was time to turn things over.
