Finalizing the deal to sell the NBA Timberwolves and WNBA Lynx remains unclear with a deadline of March 27 looming.
In 2021 owner Glen Taylor struck a multi-phase payment plan with Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to acquire the Minneapolis-based basketball franchises for $1.5 billion. The final payment to give Lore and Rodriguez majority control over the teams (Taylor becomes a minority owner) is due a week from Wednesday.
That deadline is an extension of a previous date and indicates the challenge the buyers have experienced in raising capital needed for the takeover. Taylor told Sports Headliners yesterday about $600 million is needed to make the final payment.
Doubters might be skeptical of the sale being completed. Taylor’s communications with the two buyers haven’t been frequent of late but he did offer important news about financing.
“They had an equity group that was going to come in and put in $300 million, and that equity group has either withdrawn or the NBA has denied them,” Taylor said. “They have to go out and find new revenue. That I do know. I don’t know if they found it or what they’re going to do. We haven’t seen the schedule of ownership yet.”
The NBA will have a final call on approving the sale even if the Lore and Rodriguez group meet their final payment obligation. That might not be a slam dunk. If the league isn’t convinced the new owners can meet operating obligations with their finances, approval won’t be granted.
It’s believed Lore and Rodriguez will want to replace Target Center to better serve customers while improving revenues and financial value of the two franchises. A source told Sports Headliners the Farmers Market near downtown is a site of interest to the potential new owners.
Taylor would neither confirm nor deny the speculation about the location at 312 East Lyndale Avenue North. “…I don’t think I am the one that should comment on that. I think you should ask that of those guys.”
Gophers Basketball Notes
Anticipating how a college basketball team will perform the next season has never been dicier than it is now. With players having “free agency” to change schools at a whim, it’s best not to go overboard about the Gophers who potentially could have all five starters return.
The possibility of having center Pharell Payne, forward Dawson Garcia and guards Cam Christie, Elijah Hawkins and Mike Mitchell Jr. returning has college basketball authorities upbeat about Minnesota’s future. School athletic director Mark Coyle says a preseason top 25 ranking could happen, with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Big Ten Network analyst Brian Butch seeing the Gophers as possible title contenders in the Big Ten Conference.
After consecutive last place finishes in the conference and a combined league record of 6-33, coach Ben Johnson had his best Big Ten regular season record going 9-11 and 18-14 overall. Minnesota has its first NIT invite since 2014 and opens play tonight at Butler.
Izzo: “…Ben’s done an unbelievable job with the program. They could be the No. 1 team in the league next year so hat’s off to them.”
Butch told Sports Headliners the Gophers could be “top four” in the league next year. He said his alma mater, Wisconsin, might be in that company, too.
Garcia, a junior, made second team All-Big Ten as chosen by the media. He is averaging 17.7 points per game and has an admirer in Izzo. “…He’s a very good player, and if he keeps getting better, watch out,” the legendary Michigan State coach said.
Hawkins, who ranks second nationally in assists with 7.5 per game, is Garcia’s roommate. “Me and him, we feel like it starts with us. We’re the older guys in the lineup.
“I feel like as we go, the team goes. Dawson is a great player for us. He’s our leading scorer here. We expect a lot out of him, and he gives it to us.”
Hawkins, the team’s point guard, transferred from Howard last year and expects to make a decision soon about returning for his senior season. “I love Minneapolis. It’s like my new home, I guess. I love my teammates and my coaches. They test me every day to get better.
“I feel like in the beginning of the season I was struggling a little bit with turnovers and stuff as far as that, so I feel like through the season I got better and better. Next year I definitely feel like we’ll be a good team, a better team.”
Guard Braeden Carrington played frequently as a sub this year and could be the first player off the bench next season. He said it’s not “too much to hope for” that the Gophers will be a nationally ranked team in the fall of 2024.
Carrington wants to see more consistency within games from the team. At times opponents went on scoring runs and the Gophers became “flustered,” he said. “I think if we can get that figured out (consistency through 40 minutes), I think we’ll be good for next year.”
Carrington, a sophomore defensive stopper, believes he can improve his agility and strength to become an even better defender. “My goal is to be an all-defensive player (in the Big Ten),” he said.
It seems likely Johnson will receive a contract extension and additional compensation in his contract. He is the Big Ten’s youngest head coach at 43 and believed to be the lowest paid.
The Badgers, who finished second in the Big Ten Tournament, might have all their starters return except for forward Tyler Wahl from Lakeville. Moving into Wahl’s spot could be Lakeville native Nolan Winter, who is the son of former Gopher center Trevor Winter.
Nolan showed considerable improvement during his freshman year and at 6-11 has exceptional skills including his outside shooting. “I think the future is so bright for Nolan,” said Butch. “He’s a great kid.”
Winter might team with 7-foot junior starter Steven Crowl from Eagan to give the Badgers two bigs in their lineup. They continue the legacy in Madison of exceptional players from Minnesota who became Badgers this millennium.
Wisconsin is in the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time and is one of only five programs to participate 23 times in the last 25 years. Butch, who is the game radio analyst for Wisconsin, said the ongoing recruiting pipeline to Minnesota is because so many players have found success playing for the Badgers. Those players have bought into a culture of sacrificing for each other, and the Badgers have turned out Big Ten titles and NCAA Tournament runs under coach Bo Ryan and now Greg Gard.
“…They understand what exactly it is to be successful,” Butch said. “They buy into what Wisconsin is about.
“And you’ve seen changes (in style). This year Wisconsin is scoring the ball more than they have. Kids have seen that, too. Greg is willing to change. To adapt. I think that helps, too.”
Izzo said coming to Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament was a “tearful visit for me” because of his friendship with the late Flip Saunders, the former Gophers point guard, and Timberwolves executive and coach. “…Flip Saunders deserves to be even thought of more than he probably is here because he loved this city, he loved the Gophers, he loved the Timberwolves, and I love him. Sad to see him not with us right now.”
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