Since Glen Taylor bought the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1994, the team has won a playoff series just two seasons, in 2004 and 2024. Every other franchise that has been around during that same span has reached the conference semifinals at least four times.
What Taylor’s tenure as owner has lacked in on-court success, he has made up for in financial intrigue. Taylor and potential future majority shareholders Alex Rodriguez and Marc Roer are nearing arbitration to decide control of the team. Commissioner Adam Silver said the disputed sale could force the NBA to change its rules on approving transactions.
This isn’t the first time Taylor has played a leading role in events affecting the league’s finances: The 83-year-old has overseen three of the NBA’s most significant business decisions in the past three decades.
Kevin Garnett’s contract
In 1997, Taylor signed the richest contract in NBA history – a six-year, $126 million extension to then-21-year-old Kevin Garnett. It was a risky deal that made it difficult for the Timberwolves to acquire quality players around their new franchise player (see Joe Smith below).
More importantly, it was the final straw for owners who were tired of young players being cut early in their careers: Alonzo Mourning and Juwan Howard had each signed $105 million deals the previous offseason, and the Los Angeles Lakers had acquired Shaquille O’Neal for $120 million.
The Garnett contract was one of the major causes of the 1998 labor dispute that led to a lockout that shortened the 1999 season. The owners instituted a maximum contract policy, and the concept of players receiving an increasing percentage of the salary cap with their years of experience remains the basis of the NBA’s salary structure to this day.
This deal also indirectly relates to the Timberwolves’ current ownership situation: It’s widely known that Rodriguez signed a record-breaking 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers in 2000, a deal that was intentionally double Garnett’s $126 million and designed to allow him to claim he was twice as paid as any other athlete on the planet.
The two remain in a relationship in 2024, with Garnett publicly supporting Rodriguez in the dispute over who paid him his first big payday. “I’m going to fight with A-Rod,” KG said on a podcast earlier this month. “I know A-Rod, I know Mark, they have a great vision. They’re going to turn this around. I hope this doesn’t get out of their hands.”
Joe Smith Scandal
After the 1999 lockout, former No. 1 overall pick Joe Smith became a coveted free agent after averaging 16 points and eight rebounds per game in his first three seasons with Golden State. Oddly enough, he signed with Minnesota for just one year on a deal worth less than $2 million, far below his expectations.
Two years later, the league revealed that the Timberwolves had made a secret deal with Smith’s agent in which Smith would sign several cheap, short-term contracts to gain salary-cap flexibility and then be rewarded with a larger contract eventually. This rules-breaking scheme came to light in a separate lawsuit involving Smith’s agent.
Then-Commissioner David Stern took harsh action against Taylor, suspending him for one season. The NBA also forced general manager Kevin McHale to take unpaid leave, fined the team $3.5 million, and stripped the Timberwolves of five future first-round draft picks (two of which were eventually reinstated).
After all these troubles, Smith became an NBA journeyman, playing for 12 NBA teams but never appearing in an All-Star Game. After his existing contract with Minnesota was voided due to the aforementioned fiasco, Smith signed with the Detroit Pistons in 2000.
Despite losing valuable assets, the Timberwolves were able to solidify the roster that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2004. Had they had three more first-round draft picks, Garnett’s tenure in Minnesota may have ended differently.
Stephen Curry drafted
Speaking of draft picks, the biggest turnaround in NBA history was the 2009 NBA Draft, when Minnesota had the fifth and sixth picks and selected Jonny Flynn, who played three seasons in the NBA, and Ricky Rubio, who had a solid career but never made an All-Star Game.
The No. 7 pick? Stephen Curry.
It’s foolish to play the “what if” game in the draft. Every year, almost every team leaves at least one player undrafted who ends up having a better career than the player they drafted. Hindsight is 20/20.
But we may never again see the same team forgo the future two-time MVP in consecutive years and instead select two other top prospects who play the same position. This was the first of many questionable moves by president of basketball operations David Kahn, who was hired in May 2009 and fired four years later.
In 2009, Forbes The Golden State Warriors are valued at $315 million (19th in the NBA), while the Timberwolves are valued at $268 million (27th). After 15 years and four championships, Sportico The Warriors are the second-highest-valued sports team in the world, worth $8.28 billion, while the Timberwolves remain the NBA’s lowest-valued team at $2.94 billion (28th). It’s hard to imagine a more costly decision for a franchise than Minnesota passing on Curry.
Taylor’s impact on the league goes beyond those three events: He served as chairman of the NBA’s Board of Governors for nine years (2008-2012, then 2014-2017), during which Silver succeeded Stern as commissioner and the league fired Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Taylor helped broker the 2011 labor negotiations that ultimately led to another lockout.
The Timberwolves have yet to reach the NBA Finals under Taylor’s guidance, but the Minnesota Lynx, which he owns, have won four WNBA championships and appeared in the Finals a league-high six times.
Taylor’s tenure as the NBA’s majority owner may be coming to an end, but his name has been woven into the history of the sport more frequently than many of the more flamboyant owners who grab more headlines.
The Timberwolves’ lack of playoff wins? Yes. Questionable financial decisions? Yes, too. But boring? Absolutely not.
