[Krawczynski] Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore in serious talks to become the next owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves

[KGdaBom]

It’s really odd that some wolves fans think arod/Lore will be cheap owners when every move since they arrived has been the exact opposite of that. Old Glen [was] a pathetic owner for 98 percent of his tenure(one of the worst in all professional sports franchises) has way too many loyalists and apologists that believe his every evil word.

I knew that the greedy old Glen staying on board for another 2-3 years was going to be nothing but bad news.. He is like a dark cloud over this entire franchise!!

Only thing people here seem to like about Glen is “at least he plans to keep the team in Minnesota always” ..
That’s the carrot he dangles to poor wolves fans while he runs his organization like a loser clown show.

The other thing I want to point out is being skeptical of ARod and Lore does not make anyone a Glen Taylor loyalist. They have done and said a lot of sketchy things, and the whole three year process has led to a lot of questions nationally, who have no interest in Taylor one way or another.

You’re going to look so wrong when all is said and done, by backing up a greedy old snake.

Glen has made some poor decisions. Calling him a snake when he has done nothing snakelike IMO is over the top. There was the Joe Smith thing which I don't consider snakelike at all, but that was the worst thing he was involved in.

[guest81]

The whole thing is weird. It seems like every reference to Lore being worth 4 Billion is based on that's what he told the NBA he was worth.

Yet no numbers anywhere else seem to support that theory.

I want Lore to be the guy he says he is, but I'm getting more and more worried he's just a 21st century P.T. Barnum.

If he didn't have the money, why would he of tried to buy it in the first place if he didn't think he could afford it? Does that make sense to you?

Pretty simple logic isn't it?

Does anyone really think Glen Taylor didn't do his financial due diligence on Lore and Arod before he even sat down with them? I think so. Would Taylor have even bothered dealing with them if they didn't have the money is a great question.

The other thing no one talks about is that the Wolves are expected to make a small profit this year and next. Attendance, concessions, parking and largely TV contracts pay the bills. So it's not like Lore has to spend hundreds of millions out of pocket to keep the team afloat.

The thing is, it's Glen Taylor, he could of absolutely not done his due diligence! Even if we think Lore and arod are complete frauds, Glen Taylor picked them to sell the team to! In any situation either Glen is a moron, lazy, or a snake. Has to be at least one of them

[guest81]

The other thing I want to point out is being skeptical of ARod and Lore does not make anyone a Glen Taylor loyalist. They have done and said a lot of sketchy things, and the whole three year process has led to a lot of questions nationally, who have no interest in Taylor one way or another.

You’re going to look so wrong when all is said and done, by backing up a greedy old snake.

Glen has made some poor decisions. Calling him a snake when he has done nothing snakelike IMO is over the top. There was the Joe Smith thing which I don't consider snakelike at all, but that was the worst thing he was involved in.

Well the joe Smith thing was literally snake like. He also had thrown the best player in franchise history under the bus by saying he dogged it. Probably went back on a deal with kg after flip died is pretty snakelike. McHale has apparently called him snake like as well

[shrink]

I believe $8 mil is the second highest salary for a GM. Pat Riley makes $11, but he’s GM and president. RC Buford makes $10.

While I love the work Connelly has done, no, Glen Taylor didn’t have to agree to pay $8 mil for a GM, and when he made this agreement, there was no guarantee it would raise the value of the team. In fact, months after the Rudy trade, I was the one asking to change the Connelly title from “Fire Tim Connelly.”

Yes, ARod and Lore get credit for asking Connelly. And while people hate to give Taylor credit for anything, he gets credit for agreeing to pay him the bulk of that big salary. That was his $8 mil a year - he was not required to put it back into the team by paying for the second most expensive GM in the NBA. What I dislike is ARod and Lore taking full credit for Connelly, and every good move he has done. If we’re being honest, both sides deserve credit.

Yes, he paid 8 million, but in the end, he's getting 1.5 billion so what is 8 million in comparison. Do you not get that part?

He is not getting $1.5 billion, and even if he was, he is not obligated to spend it on the second highest paid GM in the NBA.

My point is that ARod and Lore are taking full credit for Tim Connelly in front of the fans, and that’s not true. Neither could have brought Connelly here without the other.

[guest81]

I believe $8 mil is the second highest salary for a GM. Pat Riley makes $11, but he’s GM and president. RC Buford makes $10.

While I love the work Connelly has done, no, Glen Taylor didn’t have to agree to pay $8 mil for a GM, and when he made this agreement, there was no guarantee it would raise the value of the team. In fact, months after the Rudy trade, I was the one asking to change the Connelly title from “Fire Tim Connelly.”

Yes, ARod and Lore get credit for asking Connelly. And while people hate to give Taylor credit for anything, he gets credit for agreeing to pay him the bulk of that big salary. That was his $8 mil a year - he was not required to put it back into the team by paying for the second most expensive GM in the NBA. What I dislike is ARod and Lore taking full credit for Connelly, and every good move he has done. If we’re being honest, both sides deserve credit.

Yes, he paid 8 million, but in the end, he's getting 1.5 billion so what is 8 million in comparison. Do you not get that part?

He is not getting $1.5 billion, and even if he was, he is not obligated to spend it on the second highest paid GM in the NBA.

He's the owner of the team! Whose obligation was it?

[shrink]

Yes, he paid 8 million, but in the end, he's getting 1.5 billion so what is 8 million in comparison. Do you not get that part?

He is not getting $1.5 billion, and even if he was, he is not obligated to spend it on the second highest paid GM in the NBA.

He's the owner of the team! Whose obligation was it?

You aren’t one of those people who say, “Dad, I need a car. Buy me a Maserati because you’re rich?”

[shrink]

You’re going to look so wrong when all is said and done, by backing up a greedy old snake.

Glen has made some poor decisions. Calling him a snake when he has done nothing snakelike IMO is over the top. There was the Joe Smith thing which I don't consider snakelike at all, but that was the worst thing he was involved in.

Well the joe Smith thing was literally snake like

Why do you think that?

[Nick K]

He didn’t agree to buy the team though.

He agreed to have a series of options. If he had the money and the team was worth it, he could keep buying the team at a preset price.

If he didn’t have the money or didn’t like the price at any point, he could just pick to not exercise the option and walk away.

This wasn’t ever a fully agreed to sale, a fact court proven when the minority partner Orbit sued Taylor already over the deal.

Depends on who you believe. According to Lore and arod, it was glens idea to do it over time so Glen could still hold onto the team a little longer. Taylor could be right, but he's been full of **** before so I tend to believe more in Lore, who doesn't have that track record

The Shams video is very enlightening to me.

The NBA is still reviewing the contract regarding the sale of the team. It is not sold yet. Yet Taylor believes he is entitled to have in his possession the full money owed in the contract, even though the contract has not yet been officially approved by the NBA. That's greed.

It's also dirty, underhanded, welshing on the spirit of the deal. What happened to "look them in the eye", handshake deals of honor that he supposedly cherishes? Most every one except for a few see right through this.

I've defended Glen for years and now I feel nothing but contempt for the guy.

[KGdaBom]

Read on Twitter

"If the incumbent owner wants to get a deal done, these things get done."

This whole saga is about Glen deciding 3 years later, oops I made a bad deal so how can I get out of it. This isn't about him feeling like Marc and Alex broke their word, because if he still wanted to sell the team, he would still sell. It is 100% seller's remorse.

I have zero issue with Glen having seller's remorse. He's losing a billion dollars on the sale based on current valuation. If A Rod and Lore have defaulted on the purchase agreement Glen is doing what any reasonable businessman would do. Terminate the purchase.

[shrink]

Yes, ARod and Lore get credit for asking Connelly. And while people hate to give Taylor credit for anything, he gets credit for agreeing to pay him the bulk of that big salary. That was his $8 mil a year - he was not required to put it back into the team by paying for the second most expensive GM in the NBA. What I dislike is ARod and Lore taking full credit for Connelly, and every good move he has done. If we’re being honest, both sides deserve credit.

Again, there are levels.

If one party does all the leg work and the other simply foots the bill, are you telling me the two should be given an equal amount?

“Simply foots the bill” .. for $11.5 million dollars?

You need both parties. Neither side shouldn’t take all the credit

[shrink]

Depends on who you believe. According to Lore and arod, it was glens idea to do it over time so Glen could still hold onto the team a little longer. Taylor could be right, but he's been full of **** before so I tend to believe more in Lore, who doesn't have that track record

The Shams video is very enlightening to me.

The NBA is still reviewing the contract regarding the sale of the team. It is not sold yet. Yet Taylor believes he is entitled to have in his possession the full money owed in the contract, even though the contract has not yet been officially approved by the NBA. That's greed.

It's also dirty, underhanded, welshing on the spirit of the deal. What happened to "look them in the eye", handshake deals of honor that he supposedly cherishes? Most every one except for a few see right through this.

I've defended Glen for years and now I feel nothing but contempt for the guy.

Well, he’s waited three years, and at every payment, Lore and ARod have delayed. In your opinion, for the “spirit of the deal” how long should Taylor have to wait to get his money? Five years? Ten? Forever?

Fortunately, none of us have to make that determination, because an arbiter will rule on the contract, and the NBA’s Governors Board will rule on whether they want to accept this source of outside funding, and whether having ARod and Lore owning a team is good for the NBA. Like Sham’s said, it’s not our feelings, it’s the contract.

[KGdaBom]

I have doubts that the NBA board of Governors will approve the sale with the financing arrangement that Lore and A Rod have proposed.

Why? Do you think private equity firms are some unknown, foreign concept to the NBA? Because they're not.

The NBA’s plan to lure private equity money is in motion, and it’s betting on the allure of owning limited partnerships in its clubs will pay off.

With valuations in clubs rising to astronomical levels, the NBA joined the private equity chase when owners approved a plan to allow investment firms to own stakes in teams. NBA executive J.B. Lockhart is one the individuals who oversees this strategy and the league picked Dyal Capital as its partner.

They way it works: The NBA rounds up stakes in clubs and sells them to private equity firms like Dyal, who can then technically sell the limited partnerships (LPs) to private investors. Last May, Barron’s reported Dyal was seeking to raise $2 billion to purchase the LPs.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/25/the-nbas-private-equity-plan-is-in-motion-and-its-betting-on-the-allure-spownership.html

I'm going off of information gleaned from Shrink, Hartford Whalers and YoungGuns. I believe they are reporting accurately and unbiased information. I've heard that the Dyal Group financing is in the form of a high interest, leveraged loan. Which would likely not make the board of Governor's happy. If A Rod and Lore have not defaulted on the purchase agreement and the Board of Governors approves the sale congratz to A Rod and Lore.

[Nick K]

It seems that Lore and A Rod don't have their own money they need to rely on Schmidt and Dyal Group. I'd prefer having the owners actually be the people with the financial investment than investors into their investment.

Just one other thing KGdabom, do you think Glen Taylor would have offered to sell Lo/Rod this team 3 years ago if they didn't have the ability to buy it? Don't you think Taylor did his due diligence of them at that time when it all started?

Why would you be worried or even care? Of course they have the money. Do you want a snake of an owner that makes historically bad decisions for the team to continue to own the team?

It's my understanding that Taylor specifically asked them to buy this over a 3 year period so he could stay on board for the transition.

Have you been happy with Lo/Rods direction of the club with the Gobert and Connelly hires? Then what's the issue?

Did you watch the Lo/Rod rebuttal video that Dane did and was posted?

This has nothing to do with what I want. It has everything to do with the purchase contract. Have A Rod and Lore defaulted on the purchase contract? Simple yes or no. If they have have Glen has the right to cancel the sale. If they haven't defaulted then let the sales process move forward. I have doubts that the NBA board of Governors will approve the sale with the financing arrangement that Lore and A Rod have proposed.

I get it. It's coming down to that for sure. Technically he might have the right (I'm not saying he does) depending on the contract terms but should he welsh on the deal? He could overlook the technicality and honor his word couldn't he? An honorable person would do that. When will he ever find owners again to buy and keep the team here? He's been looking for years. I'd be worried about him dropping dead in the next few years and his estate selling the team to the first viable bidder who then moves the team away.

[KGdaBom]

If he didn't have the money, why would he of tried to buy it in the first place if he didn't think he could afford it? Does that make sense to you?

Pretty simple logic isn't it?

Does anyone really think Glen Taylor didn't do his financial due diligence on Lore and Arod before he even sat down with them? I think so. Would Taylor have even bothered dealing with them if they didn't have the money is a great question.

The other thing no one talks about is that the Wolves are expected to make a small profit this year and next. Attendance, concessions, parking and largely TV contracts pay the bills. So it's not like Lore has to spend hundreds of millions out of pocket to keep the team afloat.

The thing is, it's Glen Taylor, he could of absolutely not done his due diligence! Even if we think Lore and arod are complete frauds, Glen Taylor picked them to sell the team to! In any situation either Glen is a moron, lazy, or a snake. Has to be at least one of them

Mr. Lore has fooled a lot of people. If he fooled Glen that that doesn't mean he is a moron, lazy or a snake.

[shrink]

I have zero issue with Glen having seller's remorse. He's losing a billion dollars on the sale based on current valuation. If A Rod and Lore have defaulted on the purchase agreement Glen is doing what any reasonable businessman would do. Terminate the purchase.

I feel the same way. Taylor’s motivations aren’t relevant to his or Lore’s actions and the contract, and just something to rile up fans.

In fact, I wonder if an arbiter is going to split the baby down the middle, and say, “ARod and Lore, we’ll look past all this BS and your funding, and you can be owner if you pay 40% of the current value of the team - up front. And Taylor, you can’t cancel the sale, but have to accept ARod and Lore’s market value offer.”

That would be good for the fans, right? Would Lore and ARod accept that, “because they want to do what’s best for the fans?” And could these self-claimed rich guys even afford to buy at market price?

[KGdaBom]

You’re going to look so wrong when all is said and done, by backing up a greedy old snake.

Glen has made some poor decisions. Calling him a snake when he has done nothing snakelike IMO is over the top. There was the Joe Smith thing which I don't consider snakelike at all, but that was the worst thing he was involved in.

Well the joe Smith thing was literally snake like. He also had thrown the best player in franchise history under the bus by saying he dogged it. Probably went back on a deal with kg after flip died is pretty snakelike. McHale has apparently called him snake like as well

First of all that deal was McHale's idea. Do you even know what was in that "illegal" agreement. It was things like if you make all NBA and the Wolves win the championship we will give you a big raise? Of course they would. They were agreeing to do what they obviously would have done. Not snakelike to me, but maybe to you.

[Nick K]

I have doubts that the NBA board of Governors will approve the sale with the financing arrangement that Lore and A Rod have proposed.

Why? Do you think private equity firms are some unknown, foreign concept to the NBA? Because they're not.

The NBA’s plan to lure private equity money is in motion, and it’s betting on the allure of owning limited partnerships in its clubs will pay off.

With valuations in clubs rising to astronomical levels, the NBA joined the private equity chase when owners approved a plan to allow investment firms to own stakes in teams. NBA executive J.B. Lockhart is one the individuals who oversees this strategy and the league picked Dyal Capital as its partner.

They way it works: The NBA rounds up stakes in clubs and sells them to private equity firms like Dyal, who can then technically sell the limited partnerships (LPs) to private investors. Last May, Barron’s reported Dyal was seeking to raise $2 billion to purchase the LPs.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/25/the-nbas-private-equity-plan-is-in-motion-and-its-betting-on-the-allure-spownership.html

Very interesting Klomp. Makes total sense. Thanks for posting that.

[KGdaBom]

Just one other thing KGdabom, do you think Glen Taylor would have offered to sell Lo/Rod this team 3 years ago if they didn't have the ability to buy it? Don't you think Taylor did his due diligence of them at that time when it all started?

Why would you be worried or even care? Of course they have the money. Do you want a snake of an owner that makes historically bad decisions for the team to continue to own the team?

It's my understanding that Taylor specifically asked them to buy this over a 3 year period so he could stay on board for the transition.

Have you been happy with Lo/Rods direction of the club with the Gobert and Connelly hires? Then what's the issue?

Did you watch the Lo/Rod rebuttal video that Dane did and was posted?

This has nothing to do with what I want. It has everything to do with the purchase contract. Have A Rod and Lore defaulted on the purchase contract? Simple yes or no. If they have have Glen has the right to cancel the sale. If they haven't defaulted then let the sales process move forward. I have doubts that the NBA board of Governors will approve the sale with the financing arrangement that Lore and A Rod have proposed.

I get it. It's coming down to that for sure. Technically he might have the right (I'm not saying he does) depending on the contract terms but should he welsh on the deal? He could overlook the technicality and honor his word couldn't he? An honorable person would do that. When will he ever find owners again to buy and keep the team here? He's been looking for years. I'd be worried about him dropping dead in the next few years and his estate selling the team to the first viable bidder who then moves the team away.

A Rod and Lore have continuously pushed the contract to the limit. Glen is losing a billion dollars based on current valuation. I don't fault him one tiny bit for saying enough is enough and exercising his right to terminate the sale based on breach of contract. If they haven't actually breached the contract then let the sale move forward and see if the Board of Governors approves.

[shrink]

I have doubts that the NBA board of Governors will approve the sale with the financing arrangement that Lore and A Rod have proposed.

Why? Do you think private equity firms are some unknown, foreign concept to the NBA? Because they're not.

The NBA’s plan to lure private equity money is in motion, and it’s betting on the allure of owning limited partnerships in its clubs will pay off.

With valuations in clubs rising to astronomical levels, the NBA joined the private equity chase when owners approved a plan to allow investment firms to own stakes in teams. NBA executive J.B. Lockhart is one the individuals who oversees this strategy and the league picked Dyal Capital as its partner.

They way it works: The NBA rounds up stakes in clubs and sells them to private equity firms like Dyal, who can then technically sell the limited partnerships (LPs) to private investors. Last May, Barron’s reported Dyal was seeking to raise $2 billion to purchase the LPs.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/25/the-nbas-private-equity-plan-is-in-motion-and-its-betting-on-the-allure-spownership.html

As I understand it, the NBA Board of Governors only recently thought to let venture capitalist groups own shares of NBA teams, and this was primarily to give an out for very limited partners that wanted to sell, when the majority owner didn’t want to buy them. Dyal, through their subsidiary Open Court, was the first one approved a couple years back, and it paid off for its investors when Dyal bought out a couple minor partners in PHX, then Matt Ischbia bought the team.

There are two problems going forward here. First, just because the Board approved the sale for PHX, it does not mean they automatically approve the sale for MIN. Each transaction is unique, and I think it’s a little shady for Lore and ARod calling them “approved” before the NBA has approved this deal. The second issue is that (as far as I know), we have not seen how much financing that Lore and ARod are requesting from Dyal, and what they have to pay them back. This VC was created for small slices of an already owned, and financially secure, team. This appears to be the first time someone is using them for a larger purchase.

[thinktank]

I can’t believe Glen found a way to make this fanbase dislike him even more.

What a slap in the face.

This guy.

I tell ya.