T'Wolves Owner Glen Taylor is in "no hurry to cash in" on a potential sale, as the team could have sold for $700M or more "quite easily in the last couple of seasons," according to Jon Krawczynski of THE ATHLETIC. Taylor said, "Even right now I have people that would call me up and give me substantially more than [$700M]. And I’ve said I’m not interested in selling. I just want to play this thing out." Krawczynski noted nearly all of the sale opportunities "involved ownership groups that wanted to move the franchise out of Minnesota." However, Taylor has "made it a priority to keep the team in his home state." For instance, the T'Wolves' recent $140M Target Center renovation deal with the city of Minneapolis "extended the team’s lease" through '32. The team will "have to be sold at some point" during Taylor's lifetime "because none of his children are interested in inheriting the franchise." But before he sells, he "wants to preside over a winner." Orbach Group Chair Meyer Orbach and entrepreneur John Jiang have recently become limited partners, and Taylor has "poured money into the team like he never has before in an effort to shorten the path back to competitiveness" (THEATHLETIC.com, 10/29).
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Krawczynski noted NBA owners are "still working on a more permanent solution to the revenue sharing issue, and Taylor certainly has a big stake in the situation." The T'Wolves just signed F Andrew Wiggins to a five-year, $148M extension. The team "will likely do the same next summer" with C Karl-Anthony Towns and "will have to do so" with F Jimmy Butler in two years. In a smaller market, the T'Wolves "will need some significant revenue sharing" to "absorb the skyrocketing roster costs." Taylor said that he "expects a vote to take place sometime in the next year that will include some changes to the current formula, but nothing significant." Taylor said, "There is a difference of opinion. Mine, personally, is that we have set up a formula that has been very helpful that we have to continue to look at it. You can always modify it and make it a little better. There are some areas that aren’t working quite right, and you just try to keep improving it to make it better" (THEATHLETIC.com, 10/30).
