Alex Rodriguez and close friend Marc Lore have signed a letter of intent and are negotiating with Glen Taylor to become the next owners of the Wolves

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MplsGopher said:
It will be just like when the Sonics left. Weren't they horrible .... then as soon as they left, they had Durant and were good in OKC?
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True, but not quite the same. The Sonics were only 2 years away from going 52-30 and finishing 1st in the NW Division. They did have 2 years below .500 in the 5yrs before that. Then in the 7 yrs before(99-93) that, they had 1 season below .500. They finished 1st or 2nd in the other 6.

The similarity is that they couldn't find a local buyer. Then the carpetbaggers came in proclaiming that they'd keep the team in Seattle. They didn't and later admitted that was their plan all along.

Been pretty vocal in saying Taylor would never find local buyers which meant they'd be gone. They still might be.

Though cautiously optimistic that these guys might keep them here. Though people forget that Alex Rodriquez stated his career in Seattle. 🤔
 

I guess the Sonics only left in 2008, not super long ago.

But even since then, there is so much Amazon money in Seattle now.
 

MplsGopher said:
I guess the Sonics only left in 2008, not super long ago.

But even since then, there is so much Amazon money in Seattle now.
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True, but guessing the NBA owners want that money to go to expansion. From 1/5/2021:

From 1967-2008, the Seattle Supersonics were the epicenter of professional basketball in the Emerald City before Clay Bennet moved the team to Oklahoma City.

Ever since then, Seattle has not had an NBA team despite numerous efforts to resurrect the Supersonics whether it be failed purchases of other franchises such as the Sacramento Kings or hoping for expansion.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN wrote he has heard the NBA league office has "floated the price tag of $2.5 billion each for two expansion teams in the near future" with Seattle and Las Vegas among the expected bidders.

"Such a haul could mean about $160 million per team, a windfall that could wipe out the massive debt load that’s piling up, and that alone has perked interest in the expansion path," wrote Windhorst.

Tim Bontemps of ESPN wrote last month “Seattle would likely be first in line" if the NBA decides to expand..

sports.yahoo.com

Seattle reportedly expected to bid for NBA expansion franchise and the price tag is eye-popping

Seattle hasn't had an NBA franchise since 2008.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
 

John Krawczynski - Wolves writer for the Athletic - was on with Barreiro Sunday morning.

He says that the NBA does not want existing franchises to relocate. The NBA is hoping to add 2 expansion franchises to get the league up to 32 teams. With expansion, all the existing teams get a share of the expansion fee. So the last thing the NBA wants is for a team like the Wolves to move to Vegas or Seattle. the NBA would much rather see an expansion team go into one of those markets.

And - Mpls/St. Paul is still the #14 media market in the country. The NBA does not want to lose that market - even if the team has been bad most of its tenure.

So Johnny K believes the odds of the Wolves leaving are pretty low.

On the other hand, the Target Center is one of the oldest arenas in the NBA. And most of the teams in the league own their facilities, so they get all the revenue from other events, concerts, etc. That could be something to watch when the new ownership group takes over.
 

This will be very interesting to track. Don't see how having A Rod as a partial owner would be BAD for the franchise. Assuming that they don't try to relocated.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
John Krawczynski - Wolves writer for the Athletic - was on with Barreiro Sunday morning.

He says that the NBA does not want existing franchises to relocate. The NBA is hoping to add 2 expansion franchises to get the league up to 32 teams. With expansion, all the existing teams get a share of the expansion fee. So the last thing the NBA wants is for a team like the Wolves to move to Vegas or Seattle. the NBA would much rather see an expansion team go into one of those markets.

And - Mpls/St. Paul is still the #14 media market in the country. The NBA does not want to lose that market - even if the team has been bad most of its tenure.

So Johnny K believes the odds of the Wolves leaving are pretty low.

On the other hand, the Target Center is one of the oldest arenas in the NBA. And most of the teams in the league own their facilities, so they get all the revenue from other events, concerts, etc. That could be something to watch when the new ownership group takes over.
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New stadium talk! It has been too long.
 

The TWolves are soft right now but once A-Rod gets them pumped full of horse testosterone they are going to DOMINATE! Go Minnesota Timber Centaurs!

Seriously, I'll be glad if there is a group that can keep the team here and run it well but I absolutely cannot stand Rodriguez.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
John Krawczynski - Wolves writer for the Athletic - was on with Barreiro Sunday morning.

He says that the NBA does not want existing franchises to relocate. The NBA is hoping to add 2 expansion franchises to get the league up to 32 teams. With expansion, all the existing teams get a share of the expansion fee. So the last thing the NBA wants is for a team like the Wolves to move to Vegas or Seattle. the NBA would much rather see an expansion team go into one of those markets.

And - Mpls/St. Paul is still the #14 media market in the country. The NBA does not want to lose that market - even if the team has been bad most of its tenure.

So Johnny K believes the odds of the Wolves leaving are pretty low.

On the other hand, the Target Center is one of the oldest arenas in the NBA. And most of the teams in the league own their facilities, so they get all the revenue from other events, concerts, etc. That could be something to watch when the new ownership group takes over.
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Most people don't remember this, but Target Center and Miami Arena were built at about the same time to house the two expansion teams. Miami Arena was the more deluxe of the two, and even so, by the time it was ten years old they were breaking ground on its replacement. Meanwhile, we're still making the best of the lesser of the two original arenas three decades later.
 





Bad Gopher said:
Most people don't remember this, but Target Center and Miami Arena were built at about the same time to house the two expansion teams. Miami Arena was the more deluxe of the two, and even so, by the time it was ten years old they were breaking ground on its replacement. Meanwhile, we're still making the best of the lesser of the two original arenas three decades later.
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Yeah I went to that Miami arena - the old one. It was in a weird spot all off on its own. If you ignore the homeless in the adjacent park
 

My initial reaction to the news was Vegas or Seattle but I think the expansion money will take those two markets off the table for Rod and Lore. However, I don't think for a millisecond that they are buying the franchise with the intention of keeping it here and it's nearly impossible to put language in a contract that will bind a successor owner to that kind of commitment once they take control of the franchise. I think Rod and Lore will make a brief, half hearted effort to get a taxpayer funded arena built here (to show Adam Silver they tried) and then the take our team to....Tampa/St. Pete.
 

jamiche said:
My initial reaction to the news was Vegas or Seattle but I think the expansion money will take those two markets off the table for Rod and Lore. However, I don't think for a millisecond that they are buying the franchise with the intention of keeping it here and it's nearly impossible to put language in a contract that will bind a successor owner to that kind of commitment once they take control of the franchise. I think Rod and Lore will make a brief, half hearted effort to get a taxpayer funded arena built here (to show Adam Silver they tried) and then the take our team to....Tampa/St. Pete.
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I honestly don't know if I want an NBA franchise in Vegas. People questioned for years if the city could support ONE professional franchise. The the Golden Knights come in and explode, the Raiders are going to be a HUGE ticket so I worry about market saturation. I've always thought MSP suffers from too many franchises, this would feel a little bit like that.

Hard to say. They will probably never have a problem putting people in the seats because LV is such a destination city and people will probably travel, especially in the cold winter months, to see their team play in the desert.

I'm almost certain I don't want to see the Wolves come here. I didn't think much about it at the time but the VGK owner was adamant about not bringing in a relocated franchise, bringing in that losing culture and history, etc. The city takes a lot of pride that the Knights were "Vegas Born" and I think that's a good chunk of the reason why they are so popular. Well, and of course part of it is that we've been one of the best teams in the NHL since the first month of the first season!
 



jamiche said:
My initial reaction to the news was Vegas or Seattle but I think the expansion money will take those two markets off the table for Rod and Lore. However, I don't think for a millisecond that they are buying the franchise with the intention of keeping it here and it's nearly impossible to put language in a contract that will bind a successor owner to that kind of commitment once they take control of the franchise. I think Rod and Lore will make a brief, half hearted effort to get a taxpayer funded arena built here (to show Adam Silver they tried) and then the take our team to....Tampa/St. Pete.
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They just spent how much doing the renovation? No one is going to go for a new arena anytime in the next 5 years. The only possibility is if the pull tabs are doing well enough to pay the Vikings/Target Center renovation off early they might be able to slip it in under the same funding.
 

Shama chimes in:

Taylor, a lifelong Minnesotan who turns 80 later this month, is sincere in wanting to see the NBA continue in Minneapolis. He ranks near the top of any billionaire list for humility and caring about others. He sees the franchise as a state asset and years ago rescued the Wolves when it looked like the team was relocating to New Orleans.

Competitively, the Wolves have struggled on the court for much of this century, seldom achieving winning seasons and earning their way into the playoffs. Their failure to win has held back fan support and financial success but it’s not true this is a bad basketball market. In the past both the Timberwolves and Gophers have been basketball leaders in attendance and fan followings.

It would be sad to see the city lose its NBA franchise for a second time. In 1960 the Minneapolis Lakers, five-time world champions, left for Los Angeles. In the 1980s Governor Rudy Perpich’s NBA Task Force and Minneapolis businessmen Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner helped stir interest in a NBA return to Minnesota. The expansion Timberwolves played their first season in 1989-1990.

Maybe Lore and Rodriguez will keep the team here for another 30 years. But when owners aren’t local, questions about intentions arise. “Dots” can lead elsewhere. And this time all the way to Seattle.


Howl Wolves!!
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I honestly don't know if I want an NBA franchise in Vegas. People questioned for years if the city could support ONE professional franchise. The the Golden Knights come in and explode, the Raiders are going to be a HUGE ticket so I worry about market saturation. I've always thought MSP suffers from too many franchises, this would feel a little bit like that.
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I feel like Tampa does not have that problem lately.


However, Orlando might not be too keen on the idea. No idea what kind of veto power they may possess.
 

howeda7 said:
They just spent how much doing the renovation? No one is going to go for a new arena anytime in the next 5 years. The only possibility is if the pull tabs are doing well enough to pay the Vikings/Target Center renovation off early they might be able to slip it in under the same funding.
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And like I said, we already have a pretty dang nice, new-ish arena, over in St Paul.
 


To all who are worried about T-Woves moving have you bought season tickets?
 

PhiloVance said:
To all who are worried about T-Woves moving have you bought season tickets?
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That's the definition of holding a knife to the community's throat. The new ownership group will do that; you don't have to.
 






howeda7 said:
It's over 20 years old. Not that new.
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Fair enough and correct.

But it's still an extremely nice arena. It's built the same way modern arenas are built. Maybe in everything except the most flashy, most extravagent new seating options that the newest arenas are offering.
 


MplsGopher said:
Fair enough and correct.

But it's still an extremely nice arena. It's built the same way modern arenas are built. Maybe in everything except the most flashy, most extravagent new seating options that the newest arenas are offering.
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I hope they stay at the Target Center since it only takes me 8 minutes to get there from my house. If they moved to St. Paul...I would be done with my tickets. The Wolves are not worth the drive.
 

Assuming Vegas and Seattle are expansions.

Would T-Wolves get kicked over to Eastern Central?


If that happens, I wonder if that could potentially setup a move as: Chicago 2nd team, Columbus, Cincy, Pittsburgh?
 

tikited said:
I hope they stay at the Target Center since it only takes me 8 minutes to get there from my house. If they moved to St. Paul...I would be done with my tickets. The Wolves are not worth the drive.
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It sure makes a difference, doesn't it? As odd as it sounds, for my AZ Cards season tickets, State Farm Stadium in Glendale is on the far WNW end of the PHX valley, almost exactly a 4-hr drive from my house to the front door of the stadium, and I have said many times if the stadium was anywhere closer to being in Phoenix, or God forbid on the other end of the valley, I would never have gotten tickets.
 

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