Earlier this month, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported that Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore were finalizing a deal to become the next owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves, a process which could take place slowly over the next couple of years with current owner Glen Taylor staying involved.
This ownership change can be huge for the Timberwolves for a few reasons. Let’s take a look.
What will Alex Rodriguez bring to the Minnesota Timberwolves as an owner?
The first reason being that Minnesota could potentially be a more exciting place for future free agents to sign.
Even though Minnesota is a small market and not as enticing as places like Los Angeles or Miami, having a name like Major League Baseball great Alex Rodriguez as part of the future is definitely exciting. Future free agents may see the ownership change as a positive step in the right direction and want to be a part of the team.
Even though Rodriguez and Lore aren’t set to be full-time owners for a few years, players may see playing for the Wolves as a fresh start in a way.
Another thing that might change under Rodriguez and Lore is the possibility of Kevin Garnett getting his jersey retired by the Wolves. Glen Taylor and Kevin Garnett’s relationship has been bad for a long time, and the recent new rift between the two men over the potential sale of the team has perhaps even taken things to a new level.
However, with Rodriguez and Lore as the owners of the future, there could certainly be something positive for Garnett as he should be more inclined to retire his jersey with the Wolves.
With all the positive things that Rodriguez and Lore could bring to the organization, there is still one thing that worries Wolves fans: might the new ownership group move the team once they have full control?
Although Taylor has repeatedly stated that he will do everything in his power to ensure that the new group keeps the team in Minnesota, the counterpoint is obviously that the Seattle SuperSonics new owners said the same thing a little over a decade ago before that franchise ended up in Oklahoma City in relatively short order.
Still, there is plenty of upside to this pending new ownership group. While the sale isn’t quite final yet, it’s apparently close, and we should start to see some early returns sooner rather than later.