KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS – Page 6 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Ex-NBA Referee Describes Edwards’ Rants as Classless

Posted on February 1, 2024February 1, 2024 by David Shama

Ken Mauer Jr. believes Anthony Edwards was classless when ripping the officiating after his team’s game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City Monday night, but he said that referees Mark Lindsay, Karl Lane and Matt Myers will not hold a grudge against Ant.

Mauer, the St. Paul native who was a highly respected NBA referee for 37 years, didn’t see the game but heard about comments made by the Timberwolves 22-year-old high scoring guard now in his fourth professional season. Although Minnesota won the game between two of the Western Conference’s premier teams, Edwards said the officiating was “terrible,” that it was like competing against eight opponents on the floor (not five) and that his team won despite not receiving the calls they deserved from referees whose integrity he questioned.

Edwards knew his postgame comments invited punishment from the NBA office. Yesterday the league announced a $40,000 fine for his critical remarks after his team’s 107-101 win, a game where he scored 27 points.

“There’s no class there,” Mauer told Sports Headliners yesterday when asked about Edwards’ critical words. Mauer said there is a professional way to converse with officials and how to talk about them. Edwards crossed the line. “I just think they’re (the rants) without merit,” Mauer said by phone from his home in Florida. “I just don’t understand.”

Basketball is an emotional sport, and it can test the self-control of players as it did with Edwards on Monday night. “He’s a young kid,” Mauer said. “He just doesn’t quite get it yet.”

Edwards, who is averaging 25.5 points per game and has the potential to become a consensus superstar, has been in “hot water” with the league before. In 2022 he was fined $40,000 for anti-gay remarks made during the off-season. Last year he was assessed a $50,000 penalty for an incident in the spring when he recklessly threw a chair in frustration that struck bystanders.

Mauer said the league’s referees need to know the NBA office is supportive of them. Fines and reprimands of players show that backing and without such actions referees will be upset.

There will be no inclination by the three officials who worked Monday’s game, or any other league referees, to have a vendetta against Edwards, Mauer said. “Do they carry a grudge? No. Referees, they remember but referees don’t do that (hold grudges).”

By remembering incidents with players or coaches, the potential is created to have future dialogues among all concerned. Referees and players can learn from what happened and be better prepared to handle similar incidents going forward.

Mauer said NBA officials are constantly evaluated. “They get graded for every call for every game.” A supervisor will let them know if they make a mistake.

Mauer’s NBA career ended after the 2021 playoffs. He was suspended without pay for the 2021-2022 season for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID. The league didn’t mandate that players be vaccinated but did so with referees. In a two-sentence letter from the league in September of 2022 he was terminated. Mauer’s convictions told him his treatment was wrong and he initiated litigation against the NBA that is ongoing. He has an appeal for legal funding help on his GiveSendGo web page.

Mauer doesn’t want it to sound like “sour grapes” but he believes the quality of officiating in the league may not be what it once was. “There’s referees that they’re hiring that have refereed only four or five years in their entire careers,” he said.

Mauer can recall an era when it was common for rookie NBA officials to have 10, 12 or more years of prior experience at other levels of basketball. A referee facing a challenging situation for the first time is in a different place than one who has seen those circumstances many times. The league decision makers have for a while now been expanding the number of referees and have prioritized gender hiring. The total number of officials entering this season was 74 and the league had an all-time high eight female referees going into the prior season.

Mauer said contrary to the view of fans and media, officials don’t play favorites with players, teams or venues. They don’t now, nor did they during his time, Mauer maintains.

“There were many times I didn’t even know the player that I was calling the foul on. …We don’t care. We just go and do our job.”

Mauer said coaches, players, fans and media know the Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns is a “whiner,” but that reputation doesn’t predispose officials to treat him unfairly. “Referees have guidelines they must follow. They follow (apply) for all the players.”

When Mauer worked in the NBA he talked with Towns and others who complain frequently about calls they don’t like. There’s no upside in that for players, Mauer said. He viewed Towns’ rants as immature behavior.

LeBron James and the Lakers don’t receive preferential treatment because he is one of the greatest players ever, or because his team is a flagship NBA franchise, per Mauer. He believes the league’s greatest players are probably more deserving of favorable calls because they make the difficult look easy despite having defenders hanging on them or hacking their arms.

Home court advantage in the NBA? Maybe so for various reasons like fan support spiking adrenaline in players but Mauer contends refs don’t intentionally favor home teams. Mauer said legendary NBA referee Earl Strom prided himself on a record that showed visiting teams won more often than home teams in games officiated.

Mauer said it was once pointed out during his career that the same was true of him. “I never kept track of things like that. I just go out and do my job.”

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Glen Taylor Offers News on Wolves Ownership Transition

Posted on January 5, 2024January 5, 2024 by David Shama

Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor told Sports Headliner that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez met their December 31 deadline to exercise the option to acquire majority control of the franchises. He also offered an update on the widely publicized $1.5 billion sales price.

Payment must be made later this year by the two men to gain 80 percent control of Minnesota’s professional basketball teams. Rodriguez and Lore reportedly already hold a 40 percent ownership share. Taylor said the final payment will not be for several weeks at the soonest and “probably not after 120 days,” with more specifics to be determined.

Asked about the accuracy of the $1.5 billion price, Taylor said, “Sort of. Yeah, kind of, but we have to negotiate a few things.”

Taylor, a long-time friend of this writer, declined to provide further details. The plan is for him to become a 20 percent owner of the teams.

Taylor expressed confidence that efforts of Lore and Rodriguez to acquire investment partners are on track. He knows at least some names of potential owners.

All of those involved with the new ownership group must be investigated and vetted by the NBA. Until the league’s Board of Governors votes approval, Rodriquez, Lore and their partners will not have their 80 percent authority. Taylor isn’t aware of a date yet when the Board of Governors will hold their vote to approve or not approve new ownership.

Fans can raise questions about the future of the franchises and where they will play. Neither Lore nor Rodriguez has ties to Minnesota, and this will be their first venture into pro sports ownership.

Their payment plan for the Wolves and Lynx began in 2021 and is unconventional in that they have needed time to raise capital and take in partners. Will they have the money, and willingness, to make their teams competitive?

What’s interesting, too, is that Lore and Rodriguez are buying low on the $1.5 billion deal, or whatever the final number turns out to be. Since the time of their agreement with Taylor, other NBA franchises have sold for more than twice as much.

To their credit, Lore and Rodriguez pushed for the hiring of general manager Tim Connelly in May of 2022. The trades bringing high impact starters Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley Jr. to Minneapolis have been vital to the Wolves now being counted among the elite teams in the NBA this season.

The team payroll, already expensive, could easily go into luxury tax territory for the 2024-2025 season. The Wolves will reportedly pay their two big men, Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, over $90 million as they look at an expected NBA luxury tax threshold of perhaps $172 million for the entire team. If the Wolves earn a Western Conference title—or, gulp—an NBA championship, will ownership go beyond $172 million and pay the resulting financial penalty?

Such success followed by financial trimming would disappoint a fan base that has witnessed a lot of struggles in over 30 years of Wolves basketball. The team has never won a Western Conference title and advanced to the Finals. The Lynx, operating on a modest business model in the startup WNBA, have won four league titles since Taylor started the franchise in 1999 partially because he wanted to be supportive of women’s basketball. Many years he has operated both the Lynx and Wolves when they have lost money. He was instrumental in stepping forward in 1994 to end speculation the Wolves might relocate, buying the franchise from original owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner.

The Wolves are competing in a league with wealthy owners including Steve Ballmer from the Clippers, worth an estimated $100 billion-plus. Front Office Sports, working off data from Forbes, listed the 20 richest owners in American sports late last year. Included from the NBA were Dan Gilbert of the Cavs at $21.3 billion; Stan Kroenke, Nuggets, $14.6 billion; Jimmy Haslam, Bucks, $8.7 billion; Robert Pera, Grizzlies, $8.3 billion; Tom Gores, Pistons, $8.1 billion; Antony Resler, Hawks, $8.1 billion; Tilman Fertitta, Rockets, $8 billion. Lore’s estimated net worth is over $4 billion, with fellow businessman and ex-baseball star Rodriguez purportedly at $350 million.

And there is more money coming into the league. TV celebrity and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has sold the majority share of his franchise to casino magnate Miriam Adelson at a reported price of $3.5 billion. Cuban is on record about a future where he sees NBA owners, at least the savvier and more fortunate, tying themselves to real estate endeavors. Cuban envisions a new arena in Dallas being part of a casino-resort complex that creates significant revenue streams beyond basketball.

There is a “keep up with the Joneses’” push in the NBA that includes Ballmer’s soon to open privately financed $1 billion-plus arena in Inglewood, California. The state-of-the-art Chase Center in San Francisco opened in 2019 and is home to the Warriors and is also privately financed. Reported cost was $1.4 billion.

The Wolves’ home, Target Center, is the second oldest in the NBA. Lore and Rodriguez are on record about their interest in a new home for their teams. The Wolves’ lease at the Minneapolis owned facility reportedly expires in 2035.

The push for a new arena and location could go in a couple of directions if it goes anywhere at all. While Wolves ownership probably contributes money to a new building, the safe assumption is public financing will aggressively be lobbied for. The easiest sell to law makers might be if a municipality and the state worked with the Wolves on a new arena tied to a casino gambling complex.

With the state apparently nearing the approval of sports wagering as is already in place in neighboring states, gambling expansion is on the horizon. That could tie to arena development in the suburbs or downtown.

As the commerce heart of the region, urban planners have known for decades it’s important to have an economically viable downtown Minneapolis. To take the teams out of Minneapolis would be a “political basketball” in the public and law-making domains. However, native American sovereignty over gambling in the state will be another hot issue if it’s decided to tie a casino to a new NBA arena.

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Owner Made Voice Heard on Wolves Technical Fouls

Posted on December 12, 2023December 16, 2023 by David Shama

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor often wasn’t happy with his underachieving team last season and among the annoyances were too many technical fouls. The Wolves led the NBA in technicals per game (0.7, Teamrankings.com), and had issues with flagrant fouls and ejections. Taylor spoke up about the mess during the offseason.

“Yeah, that was an issue and the coach (Chris Finch) and I talked about it this summer that we had to get that cut down,” Taylor told Sports Headliners. “And my point to him (was) that I think it starts with the coaches. That it’s what they (coaches and players) say to the refs, how they say it to the refs, what the refs expect.

“I said that I don’t think we’ll ever become a championship team unless we cut down the technicals. I…(said) I think the process just doesn’t work that way.

“And by fall I talked to the coach about it again and he said he had taken the time during the summer to address it with the players. And I said when I have my business of basketball meeting with the players—I do every year—did he mind if I brought it up again directly to the players?

“That I just thought it’s something that sets us back, our relationship with the refs, when we complain too much…and things like that, and we should think (about the problem). And everybody was very receptive. I think they all understood it.

“They sounded like they agreed with the coach and myself that it had to be something everybody would work on and try to cut it back. And I think so far—we’re a fourth of the way through the season—I think they’ve done a good job.”

The message got through and the Wolves this season no longer rank among the leaders in team technical fouls per game (Teamrankings.com). This is a more disciplined team on the court and that has contributed to an NBA best 17-5 record. Six of the wins have been by fewer than 10 points, results where the absence of technical fouls for misbehavior can impact the outcome of games.

Taylor, the Mankato-based billionaire, knew from his other businesses that leadership sets the tone for organizations. He made it clear to the well-respected Finch (Western Conference Coach of the Month October-November) that “you gotta make it very clear what your expectations are.” He encouraged Finch not to hold back in delivering the message and point out how arguing with the referees “over every play” was holding back team success.

In the past star forward Karl-Anthony Towns has too often let his emotions get the best of him and been a poster boy for whining to the officials. It’s a new KAT this season with improved body language, gestures and facial expressions.

“I would give that credit, most of that credit, to the coach,” Taylor said. “The coach has spent lots of time with KAT with film and looking over what he is doing and how he can adjust and how he can be a better teammate, not just score himself. And I think he has taken it to heart, and I think it has showed up.”

The Wolves, who did finish strong in a playoff series loss to the eventual NBA champion Nuggets, had a 42-20 regular season record in 2022-2023 after being 46-40 the season prior. More had been expected of a team that acquired All-NBA defensive center Rudy Gobert in the summer of 2022. But learning to play with Gobert, a long absence by KAT because of a persistent calf injury, and other issues, wrecked expectations.

The Gobert experiment (giving up a boatload of players and future draft picks) has become a success this season with the 11-year veteran anchoring a Wolves inside defense that’s among the most formidable in the league. He’s been an elite rebounder, too, including last week when he had consecutive 20 rebound games. Taylor sees a Gobert who is in better shape than last year, with more quickness and “spring to his step.”

Mr. Clutch for the Wolves has been 36-year-old point guard Mike Conley whose poise and experience late in games helps deliver big plays and shots. Taylor said the Wolves have known about Conley’s personal reputation of being a high-quality individual since he was at Ohio State.

It wasn’t until last winter, though, that new general manager Tim Connelly made a trade bringing him to the Wolves from the Jazz. Connelly has made moves to upgrade the roster, although during much of last season the acquisition of Gobert looked like a dud and was criticized across the country.

Taylor points out that it’s not only Gobert who has impacted the team but the acquisitions also of Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Troy Brown have played key roles. Alexander-Walker has been starting most of the season for the injured Jaden McDaniels, perhaps the team’s best perimeter defender. Brown has made contributions off the bench and starting games recently when team scoring leader Anthony Edwards was injured.

Taylor was asked about the future of Target Center, the Timberwolves home and second oldest arena in the NBA. Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold has reportedly met with government officials about renovations to Xcel Energy Center which opened in 2000 and is home to the state’s NHL team. Taylor is selling majority control of the Wolves to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriquez. He sees them taking the leadership on the arena situation.

“Well, the way I’ve handled it so far is I’d told both Alex and Marc this is something they’ve got to get on,” Taylor said. “Get organized and understand how they’re going to go about it. Come up with a plan and start presenting it to the leadership throughout the community.

“ …You gotta persuade people to participate and share in costs and get people to agree. Will it be fix up this one? Or will it be something new? Or whatever it can be?”

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