The Minnesota Timberwolves’ multi-year ownership dispute between previous owner Glen Taylor and new owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez has been a nightmare. Ultimately, Lore and Rodriguez officially became owners last June after purchasing the team for the first time in 2021. Taylor was one of the most unpopular owners, and Wolves fans are happy to see this new era officially begin.
However, on Tuesday, Pablo Torre reported that this dispute was even messier than we initially knew. Among other things, Torre somewhat hilariously reported that Taylor had created a 77-item “Mean Girls-style burn book” in a baffling attempt to thwart the property sale. Here are a few highlights from the roster Taylor brought to the NBA in an effort to stop the sellout.
- Marc Lore had dinner with Kevin Garnett and never told me. (Oh no, Glen, did that hurt your feelings?)
- Alex Rodriguez used steroids. (Not exactly breaking news.)
- Marc Lore and his friend entered the arena with an open bottle of alcohol. (Lore and his friends are indeed of legal drinking age.)
- They disagreed with us on the changes that needed to be made to the arena. (Wait, what?)
Keep in mind that the dispute was over a legal contract, not an indictment of who A-Rod and Lore are as people. To be fair, NBA owners are generally not nobles of nature, and none of the things Taylor raised are even remotely valid concerns. Taylor trying to right his mistake by selling the Wolves for less than market value ($1.5 billion) is understandable, but he handled it in the worst way possible.
To make matters worse, Taylor also requested courtside seats for Timberwolves games. Read the room, friend. Nevertheless, Wolves fans should be happy to have put the Taylor era behind them, and this story is truly hilarious.
Timberwolves fans are excited about this new era
Torre also talked about how president of basketball operations Tim Connelly only stuck around because of the change in ownership. This isn’t too shocking considering Connelly has been with the Wolves since 2022 and was hand-picked by Lore and Rodriguez.
Still, Connelly has helped the Timberwolves to back-to-back appearances in the conference finals, including bold but successful trades for Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. Additionally, he traded for Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Losing Connelly would have undoubtedly been a tough blow for the Wolves, and Torre’s comments should be yet another reason Wolves fans should be grateful for the new ownership.
The Timberwolves failed to surround Kevin Garnett with much supporting talent, in part due to Taylor’s poor decision-making, including Joe Smith’s infamous salary scandal. Taylor was also a notoriously cheap owner. Garnett’s lack of connection with the Wolves was related to his long-standing feud with Taylor. Garnett is widely expected to become more involved following the change of ownership.
Lore and Rodriguez are the ideal new owners. In particular, Lore’s technical background and Rodriguez’s experience as an elite baseball player make them perfectly equipped to guide the franchise. And having been with the team for the past few years, they are well prepared to officially lead the franchise in this new era.
Both Lore and Rodriguez are committed to maintaining a winning culture and are willing to make a major financial commitment. Lore and Rodriguez have also discussed building a state-of-the-art new arena, which is a priority because the Wolves have the league’s second-oldest arena.
Ultimately, Wolves fans should be excited about the start of this new era, and Torre’s reporting should make fans even more grateful to see this change become official.
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