Glen Taylor is putting the Minnesota Timberwolves up for sale, and former NBA player Arron Afflalo is making a push to buy the team.
Afflalo is reportedly heading an “investment group” interested in purchasing the rights to both the Timberwolves and the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA (via Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania of The Athletic):
Afflalo’s team held discussions with the Raine Group, the search firm working with Wolves owner Glen Taylor to identify candidates, on Wednesday. Afflalo is partnering with entrepreneur Jay Bloom and several other deep-pocketed investors to make a run at buying the team, which first became available at the end of July. The group has not yet met with Taylor or any representatives of the Timberwolves for advanced discussions but is confident it has the financial means and long-term vision for talks to progress to that point.
Taylor had previously entered into a “30-day exclusive negotiating agreement” with Daniel Strauss, the former minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Krawczynski and Charania reported the Strauss Group is still invested in possibly finalizing a purchase, and it even submitted an offer to Taylor. However, the exclusive agreement has run its course because a deal has yet to be struck, allowing Arron Afflalo and Co. to enter the fray.
Afflalo starred at UCLA prior to making the leap to the NBA. He played for six teams in 11 years in the league, finishing his career with averages of 10.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Afflalo is hardly the only former pro interested in buying the Timberwolves, as former franchise icon Kevin Garnett indicated he was open to buying the team when it was made available.
It remains to be seen how much traction of Afflalo's investment group can gain in the coming weeks, but it would seem he at least has his foot in the door.
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