Now that the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx franchise has been approved by the NBA Board of Governors, the focus moves on to what is next as the ownership group of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez fully take over operations from longtime majority owner Glen Taylor.
That starts with questions about a potential new arena - but it may not be the first priority for the team's new owners after all.
That's according to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski, who on Wednesday spoke with WCCO's Scott Korzenowski.
"I figured that they would be pretty aggressive right away and just say, 'here's what we want to do, here's where we think it needs to be, here's how we're gonna pay for it,' and they basically said, no, we've still got a lot of work and research to do before anything like that, any of those specifics get addressed," Krawczynski explained.
Lore and Rodriguez have expressed interested in an all-encompassing entertainment district in downtown Minneapolis that would include a new arena, but haven't identified a specific location yet.
"It is clear they will be adding that, it's going to be a project to hone over the next three, four, five years," Krawczynski said, adding that Rodriguez said previously they plan to privately finance an arena.
"Is that 100% paid for? Is that a little bit of tax subsidies? Do they want taxpayer funding? That all really remains to be seen," he adds. "I do think the local environment, Hennepin County, the City Minneapolis, State of Minnesota, for getting significant taxpayers dollars for a new stadium is not going to be welcoming. How they go about it is going to be a challenge."
Krawczynski says that Lore-Rodriguez do have limited investors with some deep pockets which could help finance a new arena project.
NBA Draft and upcoming player decisions loom
Another point of focus for the team is Wednesday night's NBA Draft. The Timberwolves have the 17th overall pick, and also the 31st overall (first pick of the second round).
But will they keep it or trade it? Krawczynski talked about what direction the team could go.
"Right now, there isn't a magic bullet deal waiting out there for them," he says. "Now, things can materialize quickly. But I actually think it's a little higher that they do pick at 17 or at least like move around the board tonight, rather than package that in something for a veteran."
The Wolves also have some other player decisions to make with players. Julius Randle has until June 29 to decide if he'll pick up his option for another year at over $30 million. And Naz Reid also has a player option, which is reportedly around $15 million. Reid is thought to have much more leverage and could decline it seeking a longer term deal, something Krawczynski said has grown less likely.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker is also an unrestricted free agent is not expected to sign with the Wolves. The valuable bench player is likely to get much more money elsewhere with Minnesota paying so much money to Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and possibly Randle and Reid.
Draft coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday night and ESPN has coverage.