Timberwolves quietly avoided a Tom Dundon disaster five years ago

I don't think there's anyone in the NBA world with a lower approval rating right now than Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon. 

Nicknamed "El Cheapo" by Bill Simmons, Dundon has done everything in his power to cut costs for the Blazers. Among other things, this includes paying Micah Nori below market value on a one-year deal, clearing house with many of the Blazers' staff, getting rid of the broadcast crew by offering them massive pay cuts, not giving fans playoff t-shirts, and not allowing two-way players to travel with the team in the playoffs. Worst of all, Dundon is threatening to relocate the franchise if the city doesn't fund the team's new arena. 

So yeah, it's safe to say that Dundon hasn't done any good since buying the team in March. And according to Jon Krawczynski, Dundon sniffed around the possibility of buying the Timberwolves back in 2021. While Krawczynski did note there weren't serious talks, Wolves fans should be thankful that nothing happened. 

"And by the way, Timberwolves fans, he (Dundon) was sniffing around a little bit with the Timberwolves back in the day, before Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez got involved. I don't think anything ever got really close to full engagement with Tom Dundon and the Wolves. But I think that Wolves fans can breathe a sigh of relief that it didn't go that way," Krawczynski said. 

Tom Dundon could have destroyed the Timberwolves

A bad owner can derail a franchise; Timberwolves fans should know this from the Glen Taylor days. And while Taylor wasn't a good owner, Dundon is miles worse. Frankly, it's nearly impossible to build a championship-winning team without ample investment from ownership. 

Finalizing the ownership dispute between Taylor and Marc Lore/Alex Rodriguez took a while, but thankfully, Lore and Rodriguez have proven that they're committed to building a winning basketball team. As an aside, just imagine how toxic a dispute between Taylor and Dundon would have been.

Lore and Rodriguez spearheaded the Wolves' pursuit of Tim Connelly as the team's lead executive back in 2022 and have signed off on several notable blockbuster trades that have resulted in a high payroll. Connelly's aggressive moves and Anthony Edwards' greatness have ushered in the most successful era of Wolves basketball. It's still early, but Lore and Rodriguez look like a great ownership group.

As established earlier, Dundon would have been an outright disaster. He would have cut spending across the board and ruined Anthony Edwards' prime, likely leading to the doomsday scenario of him asking out. Say what you will about Chris Finch, but it's unlikely that he'd still be the coach. There would surely be more baffling cost-cutting moves such as the ones I listed earlier. Billionaires need to save money, I guess?

Much like the Blazers, the Timberwolves need a new arena. Lore and Rodriguez are committed to building a new privately funded arena in downtown Minneapolis. Had Dundon bought the team, the Wolves would be going through the same drama of public arena funding or the threat of relocation. 

Now, as noted, discussions with Dundon were never serious. Regardless, even if there was a sliver of a chance that Dundon was going to buy the team, fans should be thankful that the Timberwolves dodged a disaster. 

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