Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners recently he isn’t seeking buyers for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He and his partnership group have owned the Wolves since 1995. Taylor said the purchase price was $88 million, $40 million of it borrowed money. The asking price today might be $350 million since that was the amount paid for the most recent NBA franchise sold, the Seattle SuperSonics, according to Taylor.
Certainly Taylor (the majority owner) and his partners could find reasons to put out a for sale sign if they wanted. They could sell the team for a large profit leaving behind the financial losses of the last two seasons and the anticipated loss of this season. Despite those losses Taylor described the Wolves as a “good investment.” Still, if he wanted to use the team’s on-court performances of this season and the last two seasons as motivation for selling, many people would understand.
During an interview in his Mankato office Taylor, 65 years old, was asked if he wants to own the team six years from now. “I am healthy now. If (my) health is not good that could be an indicator (to sell),” he said. “I haven’t thought about seriously giving up the majority ownership at all. I just think it’s something that is still a challenge to me, an interest to me. …But, on the other hand, I haven’t seen an offer come forward. So I haven’t really had to make that decision because no one has stepped up and just said, ‘I am a Minnesotan. I’ll take over. I’ll buy you out.’”
The public’s frustration with the Timberwolves’ on-court performances has stirred intense criticism, some of it directed at Taylor. He said his years in the Minnesota Legislature as a senator helped prepare him for public scrutiny. He learned that leadership brings criticism and “I accept that.”
More impactful than the public is Taylor’s own self assessment. “I am critical of myself,” he said. “What decisions did I make, or what things can I do to change that? We’re just way below expectations and it’s frustrating to me.”
Taylor thought the Wolves would become a playoff team this season. Instead they are trailing in the playoff derby with only 11 games remaining. The team is 11 games (30-41) under .500.
Taylor’s approach is that he and the Wolves organization will learn from the mistakes of recent years and self correct. He bases that on hard times he’s experienced during his life and that good results can come out of difficult periods.
“I don’t see it as all negative in the sense that bad times are just a waste of time,” he said. “ We should learn from that and hopefully we will be better because of that. I think great leaders learn from their mistakes. …”
Taylor said he’s been encouraging coach Randy Wittman, who took over from Dwane Casey in January, to carefully evaluate his players for the future. Assess who fits, wants to be here and has the right attitude.
For now Taylor wants to lead this franchise and he’s determined to make the future better than the immediate past.