The Minnesota Timberwolves can finally put their entire attention to the product on the basketball court. For the entirety of the 2024-25 NBA season, the lack of security regarding the team’s ownership has hung over like a dark cloud. That no longer is the case, as Alex Rodriguez has officially purchased the franchise from previous owner Glen Taylor. Fans are rejoicing at the new change up top.
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Rodriguez, along with Marc Lore, initially agreed to purchase the team from Taylor in 2021. The parties had an agreement in place for the purchase to be broken into a three-part sale. However, in March 2024, Taylor abruptly cancelled the sale, saying Rodriguez and Lore violated the conditions of their sales agreement by missing a deadline to complete the transaction.
This led to a standoff between Taylor and the Lore-Rodriguez group. The past several weeks discussions intensified until an agreement materialized to finalize the deal on April 2.
ESPN analyst Sham Charania is the man responsible for breaking the news via a post on X. This news came as an early Christmas considering Taylor didn’t have the best reputation among the fans. He is the reason franchise legend Kevin Garnett doesn’t have his jersey retired.
As a result, fans are aware of this and are already looking forward to No. 21 hanging in the rafters. One user posted, “Kevin Garnett jersey can now finally be retired.”
OMG. Kevin Garnett jersey can now finally be retired in Minnesota pic.twitter.com/v085if0sqn
— JBond (@jbondwagon) April 2, 2025
Many other fans on social media sang the same tune. They are declaring it is time for the franchise to do right by the greatest player to have ever played for them. One fan is urging the team to move quickly by posting, “Now put 21 in the rafters.”
Another fan claims that the franchise has already decided to retire Garnett’s jersey by selling the team. They confidently posted, “KG jersey is retired.”
Garnett held a grudge against Taylor which led to him refusing to let the Timberwolves retire his jersey. Following his retirement, Taylor had promised Garnett a position on the Timberwolves along with part ownership. However, after Flip Saunders passed away, he rescinded his offer. The gesture didn’t sit well with KG.
Garnett called Taylor a “snake”
The 2004 MVP hasn’t backed down with his public onslaught toward Taylor. He is extremely transparent with his feelings toward the now-former Timberwolves owner. In a sit-down interview with Shams Charania, Garnett went on record calling Taylor a “snake”.
“At this point, I don’t want any dealings with Glen Taylor or Taylor Corp. or anything that has to do with him,” Garnett said in a 2020 interview with Sports Illustrated’s Bring Me the Sports team.
He continued, “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 try not to do business with openly snakes or people who are snake-like.”
The lack of relationship between Taylor and Garnett put fans in the crossfire who loved and adored Garnett. However, the franchise can turn a new leaf now that Rodriguez is the face of the team’s ownership. Perhaps, the 2025-26 season will feature Garnett joining former teammate Malik Sealy as the only jerseys in the rafters in Minnesota. It is also believed that Garnett could be given a big role in the front office by A-Rod, although an official announcement on this is yet to be made by both the parties.
