Wolves for Sale Thread

[Lipoli390]

For a while back in August it looked like Glen Taylor was on the cusp of selling the Wolves to a group led by Daniel Strauss, a former minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. The two sides had entered in to an exclusive bargaining deal that excluded consideration of any other offers as Taylor and Strauss sought to negotiate a final sale agreement. But alas, the exclusive bargaining period ended with no deal between the two sides. And there's no news on whether Strauss remains a viable purchaser.

So where are things at and if not the Straus Group, then who's in the running to purchase the team?

Kevin Garnett remains interested, but there are no reports of any negotiations a KG group and Taylor and we don't even know whether KG has put a group together to finance the deal. Garnett doesn't come close to have it the financial resources to buy the team, so he'll need a group of investors with a lot of financial fire power. The latest reports indicate that a group led by former NBA role player, Aaron Afflalo, is seeking to purchase the team. We'd heard about that group as a potential suitor in August, but they seem to have emerged as a leading candidate since the end of the exclusivity period with the Straus Group.

I'm disappointed that a deal didn't get done with the Straus Group. And Wolves fans should be concerned about both the KG Group (if there is one) and the Afflalo Group as potential purchasers. I'm not sure what role KG or Afflalo would play as the lead name in their respective ownership groups. Neither former player has the resources to have a substantial controlling financial stake in the team. So ultimate decision-making responsibility or authority could be muddled and that's generally not a good thing. Moreover, both KG and Afflalo have close ties to the Saunders family, which could mean that neither ownership group would bring the objective assessment of Ryan Saunders that this organization needs. And as former players, there's a significant risk that KG and Afflalo would be inclined to meddle too much in front office basketball decisions.

I'm still hoping the Straus Group ends up owning the team, provided they are publicly and contractually committed to keeping the team in Minnesota. Otherwise, if the only two options are a KG Group and the Afflalo Group, I'd prefer the KG Group. If nothing else, KG loves Minnesota and would be absolutely committed to keeping the team in Minnesota. The only question in that regard would be his degree of control over the franchise. His ownership would also bring a lot of positive attention on the franchise nationally and generate a lot of excitement locally. Would he be inclined to involve himself in basketball decisions? Probably. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. KG has a great basketball mind, a wealth of basketball experience as a player and a championship pedigree. I know he was responsible for some bad basketball decisions as a Wolves player - for example, insisting on keeping Troy Hudson. But that was a long time ago and it's fair to assume that the 40-something Garnett is far more mature and savvy than he was as a player in his 20s.

So we'll see what happens. Right now, it doesn't seems like anything will happen anytime soon.

[Wolvesfan21]

Would KG or Affalo groups be worse then Glen? The ONLY thing Glen has done is keep the team here. Other then that it's been a failure. If the new owner/s at least keep the team here it can't get worse, it would be an upgrade.

[Lipoli390]

Would KG or Affalo groups be worse then Glen? The ONLY thing Glen has done is keep the team here. Other then that it's been a failure. If the new owner/s at least keep the team here it can't get worse, it would be an upgrade.

Oh, it could be worse. Let's not forget that the Wolves drafted KG before it was popular to draft players right out of the high school. He then signed KG to the biggest contract in the history of American professional sports. The Wolves then went on to be a perennial playoff team, eventually ending up in the Western Conference Finals in 2004. So Glen's reign as owner has been disappointing, but it hasn't been a complete failure. I'd definitely rank Taylor above some other NBA owners over the years, include the Clippers' former owner Donald Sterling and the Knicks current owner Jim Dolan who has run an iconic franchise into the ground with his constant meddling. So yes, it could be worse. And it certainly would be worse to have an owner who moved the franchise out of Minnesota on his own or via sale to someone else - to someone like the former Sonics owner or the former Cleveland Browns owner in the NFL. Glen deserves a lot of credit for keeping the team here when it would have otherwise almost certainly have left.

Don't get me wrong. I want this franchise sold as much as anyone. Glen has shown an inability to make good personnel decisions to run the basketball operations and he may have meddled a few times in ways that were detrimental to the team, although nothing to that effect has been confirmed. But again, his hiring decisions have been horrible and I do hold Taylor responsible for elevating Ryan to the head coaching position upon Thibodeau's departure. At the end of the day, who buys the team is just as important as getting the franchise into the hands of new ownership. If Glen's decision-making in deciding who he sells to is as bad as his personnel decisions, then we're in big trouble as Wolves fans.

[thedoper]

Performance-wise there is really no way an ownership group could be worse then Glen's last 20 years primarily because of his longevity. The risk of something worse than Glen is an owner who wants to sell the team.


Lip how can you say Glen doesnt meddle when we have Ryan Saunders as our head coach?

[Wolvesfan21]

Would KG or Affalo groups be worse then Glen? The ONLY thing Glen has done is keep the team here. Other then that it's been a failure. If the new owner/s at least keep the team here it can't get worse, it would be an upgrade.

Oh, it could be worse. Let's not forget that the Wolves drafted KG before it was popular to draft players right out of the high school. He then signed KG to the biggest contract in the history of American professional sports. The Wolves then went on to be a perennial playoff team, eventually ending up in the Western Conference Finals in 2004. So Glen's reign as owner has been disappointing, but it hasn't been a complete failure. I'd definitely rank Taylor above some other NBA owners over the years, include the Clippers' former owner Donald Sterling and the Knicks current owner Jim Dolan who has run an iconic franchise into the ground with his constant meddling. So yes, it could be worse. And it certainly would be worse to have an owner who moved the franchise out of Minnesota on his own or via sale to someone else - someone like the former Sonics owner or the former Cleveland Browns owner in the NFL. Glen deserves a lot of credit for keeping the team here when it would have otherwise almost certainly have left.

Don't get me wrong. I want this franchise sold as much as anyone. Glen has shown an inability to make good personnel decisions to run the basketball operations and he may have meddled a few times in ways that were determination to the team, although nothing to that effect has been confirmed. But again, his hiring decisions have been horrible and I do hold Taylor responsible for elevating Ryan to the head coaching position upon Thibodeau's departure. At the end of the day, who buys the team is just as important as getting the franchise into the hands of new ownership. If Glen's decision-making in deciding who he sells to is as bad as his personnel decisions, then we're in big trouble as Wolves fans.

When you say you are worried about potential owners meddling. How about how Glen pinky swore with Wiggins that he would live up to his contract? Or how it was reported that Glen wouldn't trade Wiggins instead of LaVine? Every owner meddles to some extent, they have to as they hire the people in charge. Glen probably has meddled more then most as well I would gander.

Just because we are "not the Knicks" I wouldn't consider it a failure either. Sure we rode KG for all he was worth, but an avg owners gets it done with KG, at least making a finals appearance. Not selling him low for pennies on the dollar so he can win in Boston.

Not to mention the KG years were a long long time ago. What have you done since then? Nothing.

Maybe you talked me into giving Glen a D minus. ;D

[Lipoli390]

Performance-wise there is really no way an ownership group could be worse then Glen's last 20 years primarily because of his longevity. The risk of something worse than Glen is an owner who wants to sell the team.


Lip how can you say Glen doesnt meddle when we have Ryan Saunders as our head coach?

How can I say that? Well, I didn't say that. I said "he may have meddled a few times in ways that were detrimental to the team, but nothing to that effect has been confirmed." I then went on to hold him accountable for elevating Ryan Sanders. So I obviously believe meddled in that decision. I just haven't seen any independent confirmation that or any other suspected meddling. But let's acknowledge the central problem with Glen Taylor's ownership -- namely his incredibly poor hiring decisions. As owner he has only one job related directly to basketball operations -- and that's to hire a good President of Basketball Operations. He largely failed in that one main responsibility.

[Lipoli390]

Would KG or Affalo groups be worse then Glen? The ONLY thing Glen has done is keep the team here. Other then that it's been a failure. If the new owner/s at least keep the team here it can't get worse, it would be an upgrade.

Oh, it could be worse. Let's not forget that the Wolves drafted KG before it was popular to draft players right out of the high school. He then signed KG to the biggest contract in the history of American professional sports. The Wolves then went on to be a perennial playoff team, eventually ending up in the Western Conference Finals in 2004. So Glen's reign as owner has been disappointing, but it hasn't been a complete failure. I'd definitely rank Taylor above some other NBA owners over the years, include the Clippers' former owner Donald Sterling and the Knicks current owner Jim Dolan who has run an iconic franchise into the ground with his constant meddling. So yes, it could be worse. And it certainly would be worse to have an owner who moved the franchise out of Minnesota on his own or via sale to someone else - someone like the former Sonics owner or the former Cleveland Browns owner in the NFL. Glen deserves a lot of credit for keeping the team here when it would have otherwise almost certainly have left.

Don't get me wrong. I want this franchise sold as much as anyone. Glen has shown an inability to make good personnel decisions to run the basketball operations and he may have meddled a few times in ways that were determination to the team, although nothing to that effect has been confirmed. But again, his hiring decisions have been horrible and I do hold Taylor responsible for elevating Ryan to the head coaching position upon Thibodeau's departure. At the end of the day, who buys the team is just as important as getting the franchise into the hands of new ownership. If Glen's decision-making in deciding who he sells to is as bad as his personnel decisions, then we're in big trouble as Wolves fans.

When you say you are worried about potential owners meddling. How about how Glen pinky swore with Wiggins that he would live up to his contract? Or how it was reported that Glen wouldn't trade Wiggins instead of LaVine? Every owner meddles to some extent, they have to as they hire the people in charge. Glen probably has meddled more then most as well I would gander.

Just because we are "not the Knicks" I wouldn't consider it a failure either. Sure we rode KG for all he was worth, but an avg owners gets it done with KG, at least making a finals appearance. Not selling him low for pennies on the dollar so he can win in Boston.

Not to mention the KG years were a long long time ago. What have you done since then? Nothing.

Maybe you talked me into giving Glen a D minus. ;D

Lol. Grade inflation. :) I'm not sure what happened with Wiggins. For all we know Thibodeau preferred to keep Wiggins and wanted to sign him to an extension. My sense was that Thibodeau wanted to re-sign Wiggins, but Glen was only willing to do it after "looking him in the eye" and hearing that he was committed to being great. Glen's action in that instance wasn't meddling. It was just silliness.

There's no getting around Glen's terrible hiring decisions. There was no reason to believe Thibodeau would be as much as an average PBO given that he had never even worked in an NBA front office before. And Glen compounded his mistake by giving Thibs both the PBO and head coach positions. I loved Flip, but Flip was the guy who decided to go with Terrell Brandon over Chauncey when he was head coach and GM under McHale. Flip actually ackowledged to me that it was his decision, not McHale's. So no surprise that Flip ended up passing on McCollum and Giannis in favor of Bazz. Then of course, there was David Kahn. I actually wish Glen had meddled in Kahn's decisions.

Glen's parting gifts will turn out to be Rosas and Ryan Saunders. If Glen got it right with Rosas, then things should turn around as Glen leaves. But I just hope the next owner give Rosas the freedom to part with Ryan as head coach and, if Rosas turns out to be a dud, I hope the next owner gets it right with the next PBO.

[thedoper]

Performance-wise there is really no way an ownership group could be worse then Glen's last 20 years primarily because of his longevity. The risk of something worse than Glen is an owner who wants to sell the team.


Lip how can you say Glen doesnt meddle when we have Ryan Saunders as our head coach?

How can I say that? Well, I didn't say that. I said "he may have meddled a few times in ways that were detrimental to the team, but nothing to that effect has been confirmed." I then went on to hold him accountable for elevating Ryan Sanders. So I obviously believe meddled in that decision. I just haven't seen any independent confirmation that or any other suspected meddling. But let's acknowledge the central problem with Glen Taylor's ownership -- namely his incredibly poor hiring decisions. As owner he has only one job related directly to basketball operations -- and that's to hire a good President of Basketball Operations. He largely failed in that one main responsibility.

You dont think he meddled in the Joe Smith signing that lost us an unprecedented number of draft picks? Or in any of the decisions to make trades for cash?

He may be bad at hiring which is an owners primary function, but then he seems to be bad at every other facet that he gets involved in. Player relations, being the face of the "poor owners" in CBA negotiations, deal making.

I dont personally see how it could get much worse.

[Lipoli390]

Performance-wise there is really no way an ownership group could be worse then Glen's last 20 years primarily because of his longevity. The risk of something worse than Glen is an owner who wants to sell the team.


Lip how can you say Glen doesnt meddle when we have Ryan Saunders as our head coach?

How can I say that? Well, I didn't say that. I said "he may have meddled a few times in ways that were detrimental to the team, but nothing to that effect has been confirmed." I then went on to hold him accountable for elevating Ryan Sanders. So I obviously believe meddled in that decision. I just haven't seen any independent confirmation that or any other suspected meddling. But let's acknowledge the central problem with Glen Taylor's ownership -- namely his incredibly poor hiring decisions. As owner he has only one job related directly to basketball operations -- and that's to hire a good President of Basketball Operations. He largely failed in that one main responsibility.

You dont think he meddled in the Joe Smith signing that lost us an unprecedented number of draft picks? Or in any of the decisions to make trades for cash?

He may be bad at hiring which is an owners primary function, but then he seems to be bad at every other facet that he gets involved in. Player relations, being the face of the "poor owners" in CBA negotiations, deal making.

I dont personally see how it could get much worse.

Taylor didn't meddle in the Joe Smith deal. That was all McHale who did what he thought he had to do to keep Joe Smith. However, Glen allowed McHale to do the deal and that was really risky. To be fair, the Wolves weren't the only organization doing those sorts of "illegal deals." But in the grand tradition of the Wolves bad luck, the Wolves ended up getting caught. They got caught because Smith dumped his agent who negotiated the illegal deal on his behalf. The former agent then outed Smith and the Wolves out of spite. But Glen was particularly dumb in allowing the illegal deal to be put in writing.

As for the cash deals, I only know the details on one of them - selling the 27th pick the Wolves could have used to select Gobert. I've heard from people I trust inside the organization that it was Flip's decision to sell the pick because he didn't want to add any more young players and couldn't get a veteran player he wanted for the pick. That all makes sense because there's no doubt Glen allowed Flip to do whatever he wanted. Glen had a history of allowing his front office executives to do whatever they wanted and to go on doing it far too long. He didn't tell McHale to draft Ebi instead of Josh Howard or to let Chauncey Billups go in favor of relying on Terrell Brandon's frail body to carry the team's PG responsibilities. He didn't tell Khan to take Flynn or Rubio over Curry. He didn't tell Kahn to draft Derrick Williams or Wes Johnson. He didn't tell Flip pass on McCollum and then trade down and take Bazz over Giannis. And from what I've heard from people in the organization, he did NOT tell Thibodeau to keep Wiggins in favor of trading Zach and Dunn for Butler. Thibodeau came here because, in his words, the Wolves had "the best young talent in the League." Towns and Wiggins were the two keys to his assessment. He didn't want to give up on Wiggins' talent and he thought that Jimmy would be a good influence on Wiggins. When things started to go south with Jimmy, I'm told that Thibodeau kept Glen in the dark. If anything, I'd say that Taylor should have been MORE active in basketball operations. Glen was generally hands off, but unfortunately he was hands-off with bad executives he never should have hired.

You won't get an argument from me that. Glen was a good owner because I don't' believe he was. But he wasn't directly responsible for drafting Flynn over Curry or any of the other horrible draft decisions by one Wolves front office after another. He wasn't responsible for letting Billups go in favor of Terrell Brandon. The list goes on. We can nit pick the little things if we're obsessed with proving how horrible Taylor was. A lot of those things are untrue or exaggerated. In the end, what made him a bad owner was his terrible judgment when hiring the heads of his basketball operations. It's that simply; and it's that sad.

[thedoper]

Performance-wise there is really no way an ownership group could be worse then Glen's last 20 years primarily because of his longevity. The risk of something worse than Glen is an owner who wants to sell the team.


Lip how can you say Glen doesnt meddle when we have Ryan Saunders as our head coach?

How can I say that? Well, I didn't say that. I said "he may have meddled a few times in ways that were detrimental to the team, but nothing to that effect has been confirmed." I then went on to hold him accountable for elevating Ryan Sanders. So I obviously believe meddled in that decision. I just haven't seen any independent confirmation that or any other suspected meddling. But let's acknowledge the central problem with Glen Taylor's ownership -- namely his incredibly poor hiring decisions. As owner he has only one job related directly to basketball operations -- and that's to hire a good President of Basketball Operations. He largely failed in that one main responsibility.

You dont think he meddled in the Joe Smith signing that lost us an unprecedented number of draft picks? Or in any of the decisions to make trades for cash?

He may be bad at hiring which is an owners primary function, but then he seems to be bad at every other facet that he gets involved in. Player relations, being the face of the "poor owners" in CBA negotiations, deal making.

I dont personally see how it could get much worse.

Taylor didn't meddle in the Joe Smith deal. That was all McHale who did what he thought he had to do to keep Joe Smith. However, Glen allowed McHale to do the deal and that was really risky. To be fair, the Wolves weren't the only organization doing those sorts of "illegal deals." But in the grand tradition of the Wolves bad luck, the Wolves ended up getting caught. They got caught because Smith dumped his agent who negotiated the illegal deal on his behalf. The former agent then outed Smith and the Wolves out of spite. But Glen was particularly dumb in allowing the illegal deal to be put in writing.

As for the cash deals, I only know the details on one of them - selling the 27th pick the Wolves could have used to select Gobert. I've heard from people I trust inside the organization that it was Flip's decision to sell the pick because he didn't want to add any more young players and couldn't get a veteran player he wanted for the pick. That all makes sense because there's no doubt Glen allowed Flip to do whatever he wanted. Glen had a history of allowing his front office executives to do whatever they wanted and to go on doing it far too long. He didn't tell McHale to draft Ebi instead of Josh Howard or to let Chauncey Billups go in favor of relying on Terrell Brandon's frail body to carry the team's PG responsibilities. He didn't tell Khan to take Flynn or Rubio over Curry. He didn't tell Kahn to draft Derrick Williams or Wes Johnson. He didn't tell Flip pass on McCollum and then trade down and take Bazz over Giannis. And from what I've heard from people in the organization, he did NOT tell Thibodeau to keep Wiggins in favor of trading Zach and Dunn for Butler. Thibodeau came here because, in his words, the Wolves had "the best young talent in the League." Towns and Wiggins were the two keys to his assessment. He didn't want to give up on Wiggins' talent and he thought that Jimmy would be a good influence on Wiggins. When things started to go south with Jimmy, I'm told that Thibodeau kept Glen in the dark. If anything, I'd say that Taylor should have been MORE active in basketball operations. Glen was generally hands off, but unfortunately he was hands-off with bad executives he never should have hired.

You won't get an argument from me that. Glen was a good owner because I don't' believe he was. But he wasn't directly responsible for drafting Flynn over Curry or any of the other horrible draft decisions by one Wolves front office after another. He wasn't responsible for letting Billups go in favor of Terrell Brandon. The list goes on. We can nit pick the little things if we're obsessed with proving how horrible Taylor was. A lot of those things are untrue or exaggerated. In the end, what made him a bad owner was his terrible judgment when hiring the heads of his basketball operations. It's that simply; and it's that sad.

Lip,Glen's name was on the Joe Smith contract and it was "hidden" in his safe. It is his deal in spite of any impact or influence McHale had on him. People have been finding ways to give Glen the benefit of the doubt for a while, I personally cant do it. Ultimately were splitting hairs if Glen is somewhere between the worst and 10th worst (if youre really generous) owner in sports.