Timberwolves news: A-Rod ownership, 50 Cent, Team illness

The Minnesota Timberwolves have just five games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season, as time ticks down before the playoffs begin. There has been constant movement in the Western Conference standings, but the Wolves remain right on the cusp of the playoff picture.

With Minnesota owning tiebreakers over several of their opponents in the West, their chances of being in at least the play-in field come season’s end are gradually increasing. Over the final week and a half of the season, every bit of breaking news figures to be all the more relevant with the stakes as high as they are.

There have been several on and off-court developments surrounding Minnesota that are noteworthy. Here are the latest Timberwolves news updates.

Timberwolves news roundup:

• Former Major League Baseball star and Minnesota Timberwolves minority owner Alex Rodriguez made a second $290 million payment toward full ownership of the Timberwolves on Tuesday. With this new payment, A-Rod and his group now own 40% of the team, with one more payment needed for majority ownership. Rodriguez and his business partner Mark Lore first joined forces in pursuing ownership of the Timberwolves back in July 2021.
• Minnesota’s newest corporate partnership comes with none other than hip-hop icon Curtis Jackson, known professionally as 50 Cent. Jackson’s brand, Sire Spirits, became the “official spirit and champagne partner of the Timberwolves” on Monday. Minnesota is one of six professional sports franchises now partnered with Jackson’s business.
• Just as the Timberwolves had begun to find some good injury luck, an illness now seems to be plaguing the Minnesota locker room. Taurean Prince and Matt Ryan were both initially listed as questionable on the Wolves’ injury report for Wednesday with an illness, with Kyle Anderson and Anthony Edwards joining them hours before tipoff. Incredibly, Anderson and Edwards played in Phoenix, but there is no telling who will be affected by this illness next.

NBA news roundup:

• The Sacramento Kings officially clinched their spot in the NBA playoffs on Wednesday evening. Their win over the Trail Blazers ended their 16-year playoff drought, which was the longest postseason drought of any major professional sports team in the United States.
• Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Gregg Popovich, and Becky Hammon were all named as finalists to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
• NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that the league will be opting out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement on Friday, March 31 if a new CBA is not agreed upon by the player’s association at that time.
• With the playoffs appearing to be beyond their reach, the Portland Trail Blazers announced that they have officially shut down All-Star guard Damian Lillard for the remainder of the season.