The owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves is reportedly open to selling the team, as a firm has been hired to help sell the franchise.
According to The Athletic, Glen Taylor, who has owned the Timberwolves since 1994, is asking for $1.2 billion for the team -- which has been valued at about $1.4 billion by Forbes. Taylor paid $88 million 26 years ago and is currently considering all options.
One of those options is former Celtics star and Timberwolves legend, Kevin Garnett, who is apart of a group of investors that put in a bid to possibly purchase the team.
NBA/Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett and a group of investors are seriously interested in and exploring bid for Minnesota T’Wolves from Glen Taylor, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 21, 2020
While Garnett and Taylor have had a documented public fallen out the past four years, the Timberwolves owner told John Krawczynski of The Athletic that his only condition is to keep the team in Minnesota.
Garnett took to social media Tuesday to express his love of the Timberwolves, the city of Minneapolis and how his dream to be a majority owner of the first franchise to draft him back in 1995, goes beyond basketball.
My passion for the Minnesota Timberwolves to be a championship team is— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) July 21, 2020
well known but I have a deeper affection for the city of Minneapolis. I
once again want to see Minneapolis as the diverse and loving community
that I know it is. (1/2)
No two people love the city more than myself— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) July 21, 2020
and Glen Taylor and I look forward to trying to work with him to
achieve my dream. (2/2)
It remains to be seen if the bid will go through or not, but it seems Garnett may have begun to mend fences with Taylor following the Hall-of-Fame forward detailing how he, Flip Sanders and Taylor had a deal in place for Garnett to be part of the team's ownership after his playing days were over.
"Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip. For that, I won't forgive Glen. I won't forgive him for that," Garnett said back in April. "I thought he was a straight up person, straight up business man, and when Flip died, everything went with him."Garnett lifted his no-trade clause back in February of 2016, agreeing to a two-year farewell contract to return and retire as a Timberwolf -- only for Taylor to go back on his word after Sanders died.
"My years in Minnesota and in that community, I cherish," Garnett told The Athletic. "At this point, I don't want any dealings with Glen Taylor or Taylor Corp. or anything that has to do with him. I love my Timberwolves, I'll always love my guys, I'll always love the people who f--k with me there. I'll always have a special place for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in my heart.
"But I don't do business with snakes. I don't do business with snake motherf---ers. I try not to do business with openly snakes or people who are snake-like."Their relationship had gotten to the point that Garnett, who played 14 seasons in Minnesota, wanted nothing to do with any kind of ceremony to retire his No. 21, while the Celtics announced earlier this season that they would be retiring Garnett's No. 5 into the TD Garden rafters some time next year.
Garnett is the first Timberwolves player to be elected into the Hall-of-Fame, as he earned more than $334 million over his 21-years in the NBA, more than any other player in league history. If his bid goes through, he would become only the second former player, after Michael Jordan, to have majority ownership stake in a franchise.
Joel Pavón
Follow @Joe1_CSP
Photo used courtesy of CBS Sports
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