The Minnesota Timberwolves have appeared in the NBA playoffs just once in the last 16 seasons. During this stretch, they've finished with a losing record 15 times, and dead last in the Northwest division standings nine times.
And for some reason, bewildering to the sports world, Alex Rodriguez has decided that he wants to inherit the franchise's mess and try to fix its foundational issues.
According to multiple reports, the former MLB star has partnered up with billionaire Marc Lore to purchase the Timberwolves, as well as the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, for approximately $1.5 billion. Minnesota's current majority owner, Glenn Taylor, will continue to control both teams for two years, before Rodriguez and Lore take over in 2023.
During Monday's edition of the JR SportBrief show, JR shared his thoughts on the bizarre business deal.
"How is Alex Rodriguez going to affect the Minnesota Timberwolves?" JR said. "I don't know how much juice or sway Alex Rodriguez is going to have with the modern NBA player. Are they going to look at him and say they want to make money like he does? Yeah. But I'm not so sure they're going to give a damn [about him] any more than anybody else... For the most part, he's just going to be an old baseball player who has kind of a pockmarked public life. I don't know if Alex Rodriguez is going to make a big difference when it comes down to recruiting. I don't think Alex Rodriguez is going to make a huge difference in Minnesota when it's time to draft anybody.
"Alex Rodriguez, at this point, outside of lining his own pockets -- and good for him, he should be able to do that just like everybody else -- Alex Rodriguez, business-wise, owning a professional franchise, is a vanity play... The Minnesota Timberwolves need a whole hell of a lot more than Alex Rodriguez. I just hope that in becoming a part of this franchise -- as this gets finalized over the next several days, the next month -- that when he actually does own the Timberwolves, that a lot of the focus can be on the Timberwolves and not Alex Rodriguez. Because I don't think Alex Rodriguez, for superstar NBA players, I don't think he's going to have that much cachet..."
JR's complete thoughts on Rodriguez and the Timberwolves can be accessed in the audio player above.
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