He’s not an idiot at all. He got a cash infusion from minority investors at a high valuation that he’s using to upgrade the team. That was the fallback all along. He’ll get a higher price when he actually sells it to somebody with nba money. Smart dude.
All Things 2022 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread
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TruthSeeker
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Good observation.
Iceland12
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"If A-Rod and Lore manage to make their next payment by year’s end, they will then get the chance to buy an additional 40% and take control of the team by the end of 2023.
If the pair fails, insiders say Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor won’t be overly disappointed, according to an NBA source. That’s because Taylor believes the value of the team has risen to about $2 billion since they struck the deal, and believes he can make more by starting a new sales process.
The Timberwolves did not return calls.."
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Taylor might never get full price if he requires the owners to stay in MN (which i dont think is legally binding, but a good way for a buyer to get a discount. "Sure, we will stay in MN")
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Good point. Taylor tried to sell the team for years and couldn't find a single buyer who'd keep the team here. Every time a sale was rumored it fell through when the "must keep it here" part came up. Expecting to get $2B now for it, certainly won't help.
Though since the expansion price is now at $2B, might make a Wolves move to Seattle a little closer to reality.
H
Our best hope for franchise stability is probably the Wilfs, ironically.
He didn’t require these guys to stay in MN. That came out in the disgruntled partner’s lawsuit.The staying in MN thing was all bullshit.
Our best hope for franchise stability is probably the Wilfs, ironically.
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J-Lo looked in his eyes and said it was true love.
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It’s not just on Taylor. The league approves these sales too I thought?
short ornery norwegian
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when do the Wolves get their 30-for-30:
"The Minnesota Timberwolves - putting the fun in dysfunction"
"The Minnesota Timberwolves - putting the fun in dysfunction"
I doubt the expansion price is still $2B. As franchise values rise, the expansion franchise fees will rise correspondingly.
The league approved the minority investment.
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Johnny K. responds to the Timberwolves ownership question. There's more to it at the link.
"Sean M.: Any concern about the ownership transfer given the recently reported financial issues for A-Rod?
Jon Krawczynski: The short answer is that, after numerous discussions with sources over the last few days, there is nothing to worry about right now. Everyone directly involved made it clear the process is still very much on track to be completed.
To put it bluntly, ever since Lore and Rodriguez came onto the scene, there has been skepticism in some league circles that they would be able to complete the deal. But that skepticism baffles Lore and Rodriguez, who have gone through the approval process from the league to join the ownership group and have, to this point, covered every obligation required of them. They have two payments to make, one by Dec. 31 of this year and a final payment by Dec. 31, 2023. They remain steadfast that they will be able to close over the next 16 months.
Most importantly, Taylor trusts them. He wants this arrangement to work, as evidenced by the way he has empowered Lore and Rodriguez to shepherd the Tim Connelly recruitment and be involved in other big decisions, including the Gobert trade. He has always put trust high on his priority list, something that may have gotten in the way of him selling the team over the last decade. It’s just how he does business when it comes to the Wolves and Lynx. That Lore and Rodriguez have that trust puts them in great position.
The timing of the story was interesting. First, Lore and Rodriguez do not have to come up with their second 20 percent installment for another four months. The deadline is not next week.
The inclusion of Jennifer Lopez into the reporting also was curious. A-Rod and J-Lo teamed up to try and buy the New York Mets, but they broke up before Rodriguez joined the Wolves/Lynx ownership group.
Could some investors who wanted to join Rodriguez have been charmed by Lopez? Sure. But her absence scuttling Rodriguez’s ability to raise capital doesn’t pass the smell test. You know what investors generally are enamored with more than superstar actors and singers? Making money. Lore and Rodriguez have an agreement to purchase the Wolves on a $1.5 billion valuation. In the year-plus since they have come aboard, the Wolves have become more competitive and seen an increase in ticket sales and advertising interest that is near the top of the NBA, sources said. The financial and competitive pictures for the team are much stronger, and it is likely that if the team were to go back on the market today, Taylor probably could get closer to $2 billion. When the new television contract begins in 2025, maybe that valuation pushes near $2.5 billion. Should Rodriguez and Lore want to add more partners, something that remains unclear to this point, that kind of skyrocketing asset value is what is going to attract investors.
Austin P.: Do you think A-Rod’s financial struggles crack the door open for KG to purchase a sliver of ownership?
JK: I don’t want to call anything “financial struggles” when it comes to Rodriguez. Does he have Steve Ballmer money? No. But discussions with key members of the organization this week stressed that there is a very real scenario where Rodriguez pays more of the money than Lore on the second installment to even the balance. Will that happen? We shall see, but it is being discussed. There are a multitude of ways they can make the final two payments..."
theathletic.com
"Sean M.: Any concern about the ownership transfer given the recently reported financial issues for A-Rod?
Jon Krawczynski: The short answer is that, after numerous discussions with sources over the last few days, there is nothing to worry about right now. Everyone directly involved made it clear the process is still very much on track to be completed.
To put it bluntly, ever since Lore and Rodriguez came onto the scene, there has been skepticism in some league circles that they would be able to complete the deal. But that skepticism baffles Lore and Rodriguez, who have gone through the approval process from the league to join the ownership group and have, to this point, covered every obligation required of them. They have two payments to make, one by Dec. 31 of this year and a final payment by Dec. 31, 2023. They remain steadfast that they will be able to close over the next 16 months.
Most importantly, Taylor trusts them. He wants this arrangement to work, as evidenced by the way he has empowered Lore and Rodriguez to shepherd the Tim Connelly recruitment and be involved in other big decisions, including the Gobert trade. He has always put trust high on his priority list, something that may have gotten in the way of him selling the team over the last decade. It’s just how he does business when it comes to the Wolves and Lynx. That Lore and Rodriguez have that trust puts them in great position.
The timing of the story was interesting. First, Lore and Rodriguez do not have to come up with their second 20 percent installment for another four months. The deadline is not next week.
The inclusion of Jennifer Lopez into the reporting also was curious. A-Rod and J-Lo teamed up to try and buy the New York Mets, but they broke up before Rodriguez joined the Wolves/Lynx ownership group.
Could some investors who wanted to join Rodriguez have been charmed by Lopez? Sure. But her absence scuttling Rodriguez’s ability to raise capital doesn’t pass the smell test. You know what investors generally are enamored with more than superstar actors and singers? Making money. Lore and Rodriguez have an agreement to purchase the Wolves on a $1.5 billion valuation. In the year-plus since they have come aboard, the Wolves have become more competitive and seen an increase in ticket sales and advertising interest that is near the top of the NBA, sources said. The financial and competitive pictures for the team are much stronger, and it is likely that if the team were to go back on the market today, Taylor probably could get closer to $2 billion. When the new television contract begins in 2025, maybe that valuation pushes near $2.5 billion. Should Rodriguez and Lore want to add more partners, something that remains unclear to this point, that kind of skyrocketing asset value is what is going to attract investors.
Austin P.: Do you think A-Rod’s financial struggles crack the door open for KG to purchase a sliver of ownership?
JK: I don’t want to call anything “financial struggles” when it comes to Rodriguez. Does he have Steve Ballmer money? No. But discussions with key members of the organization this week stressed that there is a very real scenario where Rodriguez pays more of the money than Lore on the second installment to even the balance. Will that happen? We shall see, but it is being discussed. There are a multitude of ways they can make the final two payments..."
Examining Minnesota's ownership situation, season expectations in a Wolves mailbag
There's plenty of interest among readers about A-Rod, Marc Lore, season expectations and more.
theathletic.com
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Quin Snyder? Gone.
Rudy Gobert? Gone.
And now Donovan Michell.
Gone.
The guard was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, for a haul that includes three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps.
Yahoo’s Chris Haynes added that the Cavs are also sending Colin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and 2022 first-round pick Ochai Agbaji to Utah.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Sexton is coming to the Jazz via a four-year, $72 million sign-and-trade. His deal is fully guaranteed.
The deal was neither sudden nor surprising when viewed through the lens of the team’s recent deconstruction process, the admission from the front office that the team’s window of contention had closed, and the corresponding declaration that no one on the team was “untouchable,” and the subsequent weeks of reports that the Jazz were fielding offers for him...
Donovan Mitchell traded by Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers
The Utah Jazz complete their teardown, trading star guard Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland in exchange for a package highlighted by three unprotected first-round picks.
Over the last 2-3 weeks I've been watching a fair amount of Rudy Goby highlights during the FIBA tournament going on in Europe. I never paid much attention to him before. Now that he's "one of us," I'm trying to figure out how he fits in, particularly with KAT and Ant.
In fairness to Rudy, they seem to allow a lot of moving screens in Europe. There were a bunch of plays where the offensive player drove the lane with a player in front of him who literally pushed Rudy out of the way. These plays looked more like football than hoops and you generally don't see them in the NBA.
Rudy looks slow. Maybe he was always slow and I didn't notice it.
Rudy does three things on offense and that's it. He dunks, he does the pick and roll and he sets screens. He's never expanded his game.
It will be interesting to see if he is still quick enough to be defensively dominant and a good rebounder. It will also be interesting to see if the wolves can use him effectively in the P/R and as a screener without him clogging the middle.
They gave up a big chunk of their future to get Rudy. As KAT said, "Championship or bust."
In fairness to Rudy, they seem to allow a lot of moving screens in Europe. There were a bunch of plays where the offensive player drove the lane with a player in front of him who literally pushed Rudy out of the way. These plays looked more like football than hoops and you generally don't see them in the NBA.
Rudy looks slow. Maybe he was always slow and I didn't notice it.
Rudy does three things on offense and that's it. He dunks, he does the pick and roll and he sets screens. He's never expanded his game.
It will be interesting to see if he is still quick enough to be defensively dominant and a good rebounder. It will also be interesting to see if the wolves can use him effectively in the P/R and as a screener without him clogging the middle.
They gave up a big chunk of their future to get Rudy. As KAT said, "Championship or bust."
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If Finch and co. can find a way to make this work offensively, we are in for a great season. If it doesn't work the way it needs to...this will go down as the worst trade in team history. I still believe they gave up way too much for him but am excited for the first game for sure.
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Rudy Gobert scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, and Olympic silver medalist France moved into the EuroBasket quarterfinals by holding off Turkey 87-86 in overtime on Saturday.
Gobert had a putback dunk with 2.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, then scored the first four points of overtime, and France never trailed in the extra session...
Luka Doncic scored 35 points and defending champion Slovenia used a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter to eliminate Belgium.
Doncic and Goran Dragic combined to score or be credited with assists on Slovenia’s first 40 points of the second half...
nba.nbcsports.com
Gobert had a putback dunk with 2.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, then scored the first four points of overtime, and France never trailed in the extra session...
Luka Doncic scored 35 points and defending champion Slovenia used a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter to eliminate Belgium.
Doncic and Goran Dragic combined to score or be credited with assists on Slovenia’s first 40 points of the second half...
Gobert sparks France, Doncic leads Slovenia into EuroBasket final eight
Spain and Germany also advanced to the final eight teams.
nba.nbcsports.com
The players the wolves gave up who were on the roster were replaceable. A lot of people (I sound like Trump!) have said the draft picks will be in the twenties and won't matter. Teams are cyclical. The '23 pick will likely be in the '20's. After that, I'll take the higher.
This is the most well put together team on paper they've ever had. The only obvious weakness is the lack of depth in the back court. It will be very exciting (and novel) to have a team that has a reasonable chance to win every game. Should be a fun season!
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Oh boy - Ant stuck his foot in it big time. could face NBA discipline. from the Strib:
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards apologized Sunday after he posted to his Instagram account a video in which he made homophobic comments directed toward the LGBTQ+ community.
The video was deleted from Edwards' Instagram story, but Edwards acknowledged what he posted and that he was speaking in the video, which went viral on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.
"What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I'm incredibly sorry," Edwards said in a tweet. "It's unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there's no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!"
In the video, Edwards is in a car at night and uses his phone to zoom in on a group of people on a nearby sidewalk. Edwards comments on what he assumes is their sexual orientation from the way they were dressed, using the word "queer" as he does.
He then said, "Look what the world done came to, bruh," as a woman's voice laughs in the background.
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards apologized Sunday after he posted to his Instagram account a video in which he made homophobic comments directed toward the LGBTQ+ community.
The video was deleted from Edwards' Instagram story, but Edwards acknowledged what he posted and that he was speaking in the video, which went viral on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.
"What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I'm incredibly sorry," Edwards said in a tweet. "It's unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there's no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!"
In the video, Edwards is in a car at night and uses his phone to zoom in on a group of people on a nearby sidewalk. Edwards comments on what he assumes is their sexual orientation from the way they were dressed, using the word "queer" as he does.
He then said, "Look what the world done came to, bruh," as a woman's voice laughs in the background.
TruthSeeker
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Here's an idea. Don't post stuff on social media.
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Bad case of immaturity and stupidity. Ant has been widely celebrated for his play on the court and his antics/candor off the court. He needs to be smarter than this.
Ant's apology was nicely written by a member of somebody's PR team. Announcing that he "wasn't raised like that" is like when a racist declares that he doesn't have a racist bone in his body after having been caught saying or doing something racist.
The strib wolves' beat writer, Chris Hine, is openly gay. Beat writers' jobs in all sports depend partially on maintaining good relationships with the players and teams they cover. (Hine needs Ant more than Ant needs him in order to do his job.) That's why you rarely see openly critical stories and investigative reporting from reporters who cover teams the most closely. Hine also works for Glen Taylor. It has the potential to be a messy dynamic.
The strib wolves' beat writer, Chris Hine, is openly gay. Beat writers' jobs in all sports depend partially on maintaining good relationships with the players and teams they cover. (Hine needs Ant more than Ant needs him in order to do his job.) That's why you rarely see openly critical stories and investigative reporting from reporters who cover teams the most closely. Hine also works for Glen Taylor. It has the potential to be a messy dynamic.
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I read some of the twitter replies. Most were telling him he was right and not to worry about it.
Edit: I'm not saying he was right by the way...just reporting what I read.
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He doesn't believe in homosexuality. That's his right. He posted it.
It's too bad he can't use his freedom of speech.
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He can and did. People don't have to like it, and they can use their speech too.
Don't post stuff on social media. It's a bad place.
short ornery norwegian
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in theory, yes he has the 'right' to say whatever he wants.
but in reality - Edwards is a high-profile celebrity with endorsement deals. he is a highly-paid professional athlete. like it or not, when he posts something on social media, it is perceived differently than if some nobody posted the same thing.
to put it another way, Edwards has a lot more to lose than the average Joe.
It may not be 'fair,' but that's the reality of living in today's culture. what you say in public and what you post on social media has consequences.
short ornery norwegian
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because some people don't agree with it. some people would find it offensive. and in today's culture, when celebrities say anything remotely controversial, there is going to be a response.
you may not like it, but the NBA has tried to present a 'progressive' public image. the NBA does not want its star players making statements that go against that image. the NBA is a billion-dollar business. and believe me, if you make them unhappy, there will be consequences.
And he posted it on his own Instgram. It's not a case of "oops didn't know I was being recorded." Incredibly dumb and naive.