Minnesota Timberwolves: Potential ownership group led by Arron Afflalo
By Ben Beecken
A group interested in buying the Minnesota Timberwolves is led by former player Arron Afflalo.
There are reportedly several groups — perhaps as many as a half-dozen — who have expressed interest in buying the Minnesota Timberwolves.
According to an Associated Press report, former player Arron Afflalo is a key player in one of the groups that have emerged in recent days.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Potential new ownership group led by Arron Afflalo
According to the report from AP’s Dave Campbell and Pat Graham, Afflalo’s group would largely be funded by Brock Berglund, a venture capitalist. But Afflalo would be “the face of the group”, according to the report.
Afflalo’s career just ended following the 2017-18 campaign. He played in 762 games for six teams over 11 seasons, including three consecutive campaigns during his prime in which he averaged at least 15 points per game. At his peak, he was a reliable two-way player for Orlando and Denver and one of the better shooting guards in the league.
Afflalo appears to be on board with not moving the team out of the Twin Cities, so that checks perhaps the most important box for current owner Glen Taylor.
As noted by The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, any time an NBA team hits the market, there’s a “feeding frenzy”. These franchises are worth a ton, and the return on investment for any of them is significant.
Earlier this week there were 6-7 groups already at the table. A lot to sift through. But it does show just how sought after NBA franchises are. They don’t become available often. When they do, it’s a feeding frenzy
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) July 24, 2020
On Friday, we discussed the number of candidates vying to purchase the team that were already known to be interested. They include Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett and whomever else is in his group and a group led by current Wolves minority owner and real estate mogul Meyer Orbach.
The reported interest from Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is said to have waned, and there is apparently not an offer on the table from the Wilf family.
Things continue to change rapidly, and while the early indications were that Taylor was not in a serious hurry to close a deal, interest has only accelerated after the initial report on Tuesday.
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We’ll keep an eye on any developments over the weekend. At this stage, it wouldn’t be a shock if things continued to evolve.