Minnesota Sports Forum

lipoli390 wrote:Alex Rodriguez. Former Seattle Mariner. I've been one on this board relatively confident the Wolves won't move. But I'm having my doubts. Settle wants the NBA back and I see Alex Rodriguez returning to Seattle as the conquering hero who brings back an NBA franchise to his former home. Otherwise I don't understand why he'd be part of owning an NBA team. He's not the money guy. Instead he's partnering with a billionaire to obtain partial ownership over an NBA franchise. Why would he be interested in owning a team based on Minnesota where he has absolutely no connection?

I'll say this much: Glen's been waiting for a Minnesota savior to come in and love the team the way he does and put in the money to keep Glen's baby here. He's been waiting for years. That ownership group wasn't coming. All those Fortune 500 companies in the state and nobody stepped forward. The golden parachute wasn't there. If they leave, they leave, and Glen is fully to blame for that.

As for the Seattle angle, A-Rod hasn't had a Seattle connection of any kind in 2 decades. It would be easier to convince anyone that he'd move the team to Vegas (and he's an East Coast guy; both of them are. I don't know how much he'd be up for flying across the country from Miami to Seattle all the time. If you're wondering why A-Rod would buy the team, you kinda answered why everyone hasn't.

The pandemic revenue loss has in Adam Silver's own words accelerated the expansion talk, hoping this 2.5 years will bring an expansion team to Seattle and somewhere like Vegas or another Canadian team so they can fuck off trying to steal our team. Arod also just bought 2 Minneapolis apartment complexes a few months ago, but that is just me grasping for positive straws as it likely doesn't mean jack

.....and this deep Seattle connection that ended 21 years ago? Meh.

Shams and Jon K both tweeted the plan is to stay in Minnesota

I understand the negativity on this board toward Glen Taylor as an owner. As much negativity as Taylor gets, we should be thankful he wants to keep the Timberwolves in Minnesota. He could have easily sold the team to the highest bidder, even if the highest bidder had intentions of moving the team out of state.

There are two positives about Glen, he wants the team to win and do so in Minnesota. However he hasn't succeeded in the win part.

I think the chances of moving are slim. Probably 25%.

I don't know that ARod is the one calling the shots here He's got a net worth of $300 million, but his partner has more than 10 times that. And even if he was in charge, what do we know about his ties to Seattle other than forcing his way out of there 21 years ago? We know he was booed mercilessly every time he batted in Seattle after that. Not so sure Seattle would be his first choice to locate his team. That said, Seattle is the only metropolitan area without a basketball team that is bigger than the Twin Cities, although it's not much bigger. And you gotta believe Lore is acutely aware how recently pro basketball failed in Seattle. I mean isn't it pretty telling that just 13 years ago someone thought Oklahoma City was a better basketball market than Seattle? Glen has been adamant before about not selling the team to anyone without putting moving handcuffs on, but that could just be bullshit. I suspect Glen will disclose any restrictions in his statement. Let's keep our fingers crossed...I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't have the Wolves to piss me off!

I wonder what this means for Rosas. I get that ownership doesn't completely change for 2 1/2 years, but how involved will Lore/Arod be in decisions during the interim period? Odd deal...so many questions.

Lip, you ask why ARod would want to own a part of the Wolves. It makes sense to me. Unlike a lot of ex-athletes, ARod seems to have a pretty good head for business. Nobody has ever lost money buying an NBA franchise, and he's probably thinking a leveraged investment of $20-30 million (less than 10% of his net worth) could be a really good investment. Plus it keeps him in the limelight, and he needs that. My guess is they close this deal, and the team stays in Minnesota. And even if he's not the money guy, having Arod sitting courtside for games gives us a little more cachet than Glen provided. I think I like where this is going.

FNG wrote:Lip, you ask why ARod would want to own a part of the Wolves. It makes sense to me. Unlike a lot of ex-athletes, ARod seems to have a pretty good head for business. Nobody has ever lost money buying an NBA franchise, and he's probably thinking a leveraged investment of $20-30 million (less than 10% of his net worth) could be a really good investment. Plus it keeps him in the limelight, and he needs that. My guess is they close this deal, and the team stays in Minnesota. And even if he's not the money guy, having Arod sitting courtside for games gives us a little more cachet than Glen provided. I think I like where this is going.

Actually, I agree with you. I was just being provocative. Both Rodriquez and his billionaire partner are New Yorkers with no significant current connection to any of the locations seeking an NBA franchise. You're right about the cachet that comes with Rodriquez as a part owner. But it's not just him. It's the fact that he's married to Jennifer Lopez. The new Wolves ownership will certainly have some national star power.

Here's an interesting description of the money many in the ownership tandem:



In 2019, actress and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow called Lore a mentor and business coach stating, "He's an eCommerce wizard and so he is probably the person I reach out to most for specific questions."[46]

Lore is active on LinkedIn sharing entrepreneurial and business advice almost daily. He hosts a show called Startup Standup that focuses on mentoring female founders.[19]

In 2020, it was reported that Lore was working alongside Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez in a bid to buy the New York Mets. The deal did not go through.[47]

He was named regional Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2011,[48] one of the "smartest people in technology" by Fortune (magazine),[7] and was recently dubbed the LeBron James of eCommerce by Matt Higgins (businessman).[8]

After Jet's acquisition in 2016, Lore made headlines as the highest paid executive in America.[49]

In March 2020, Lore publicly challenged hall of fame football player, Jerry Rice, to the 40-yard dash as a part of Rich Eisen's Run Rich Run for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Lore beat Rice.[50]

On April 10th, 2021, Lore and Alex Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves from Glen Taylor.

What the hell happened to Jerry Rice?