The Minnesota Timberwolves have caused enough off-court drama in the ownership tug-of-war between incumbent owner Glen Taylor and the tandem of Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore. However, there is now a possibility that the Karl-Anthony Towns contract situation may force the big man to leave the Timberwolves.
An intriguing conversation between Brian Windhorst, Tim McMahon, and Tim Bontemps on The Hoop Collective podcast (skip to 47:31) unpacked a lot from the exit interview of Towns following their NBA Western Conference Finals exit at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.
“You've got KAT [Towns] hoping he gets to stay in Minnesota,” McMahon said. Bontemps then said: “I thought that was a fascinating answer.”
“Well, he made it clear during his exit interview, and kind of the feeling I get is, it might depend on how things go in the courtroom, or you know however this thing ends up getting played out,” McMahon added. “There’s a perception and it’s also based on the reality of they had to scrounge through couch cushions to come up with the money to put on the table for the team, but there’s definitely a perception that if A-Rod and Lore get the team then the payroll is getting slashed.”
Windhorst skeptical on potential Timberwolves payroll slashing
However, Brian Windhorst was a skeptic of the possibility the Timberwolves ownership will implement austerity measures, especially with an exciting core of young stars mixed with veteran presence that brought them to a second Western Conference Finals appearance after 20 years.
“I don't believe it's gonna get slashed. I believe if they get the team by the Fall, which I am skeptical of for various reasons, but if they get the team by the Fall, I don't think that they're cracking this team in pieces to save money,” Windhorst said. “I think they would because one thing about the team is they have instantaneous Equity they could borrow against it like that.”
The Timberwolves will stand to pay Anthony Edwards his approximately $204.5 million deal up to the 2028-29 season, Karl Anthony-Towns his $221.1 million up to the 2027-28 season, and Rudy Gobert up to $205.0 million through his player option in 2025-26. Jaden McDaniels is also on the books for $131.0 million through 2029.
While this would be a pain on the pockets of Timberwolves ownership, whether it would remain with Taylor or go the Alex Rodriguez-Marc Lore consortium, there is signals that they are willing to go over the luxury tax line if needed to keep this squad together.
Windhorst believes Timberwolves will hash out Towns contract situation
Brian Windhorst said that he believes Timberwolves ownership will subsequently resolve the contract situation with Towns, saying the structure of the current CBA may not allow the team to get the value from Towns through a trade.
“The Wolves situation will probably be dealt with by this ownership. It's not going to be on everyone else's timeline in July, but they still got Anthony Edwards and he's under long-term contract and I like their chances with him.”
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