Alex Rodriguez Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: A-Rod, Garnett, Nuggets, Mitchell

September 3rd, 2022 at 9:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

The sale of the Timberwolves shouldn’t be considered in jeopardy because of Alex Rodriguez’s reported financial situation, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Krawczynski talked to multiple sources who still expect the transaction to be completed as originally drawn up, even though a New York Post story this week questioned whether Rodriguez will have the money for his share of the next payment.

Rodriguez and Marc Lore have a unique arrangement with current owner Glen Taylor in which they are taking over full ownership on an installment plan. The next payment is due at the end of this year and the final one must be made by December 31, 2023. Krawczynski says there has been skepticism in some parts of the league about Lore and Rodriguez since the deal was announced, but there’s no immediate reason to believe they’ll miss either payment.

Krawczynski also notes that the duo has earned Taylor’s trust, as he empowered them to recruit president of basketball operations Tim Connelly away from Denver and gave them a voice on the Rudy Gobert trade.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Timberwolves, including Lore and Rodriguez, want to fix their relationship with Kevin Garnett and eventually retire his jersey, Krawczynski adds. The former All-Star may get the chance to buy a small piece of the team, although Krawczynski hasn’t heard of any “substantive discussions” toward that end. Garnett has also discussed being part of an ownership group for an expansion team in Seattle.
The Nuggets traded for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and signed Bruce Brown this offseason because of their projected fit alongside Nikola Jokic, assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis said in an interview with Fastbreak on Fan Nation. “Getting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown are both moves that really stand out for us because they are two players who understand their roles and are tailor-made to play with someone like Nikola,” Balcetis said. “… With Kentavious, his abilities to shoot and defend at a high level are what separate him from others who play his position. Bruce is a versatile guy on both ends of the floor that will fit into any role we need him in as well.”
The Jazz offered a farewell message to Donovan Mitchell after his trade to the Cavaliers became official today (Twitter link). “We got to watch you light up the league as a rookie and cheer you on as you became a perennial All-Star,” it read. “We witnessed you embrace and serve our community while standing for what’s right and uniting Jazz fans everywhere. Thank you for all the good you did here @spidadmitchell.”

Alex Rodriguez’s Financial Situation Puts Timberwolves Deal In Jeopardy

August 30th, 2022 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Alex Rodriguez is struggling to come up with his share of the money to buy the Timberwolves, according to business writer Josh Kosman of The New York Post.

Rodriguez and Marc Lore were originally supposed to be equal partners in the $1.5 billion purchase, which included a $250MM down payment made in July of 2021. However, three sources tell Kosman that Rodriguez wasn’t able to pay 50% of that cost and Lore had to cover the balance. That leaves Lore with about a 13% share of the team, while Rodriguez is at 7%.

Under the purchase agreement, the prospective owners are required to make their next 20% payment by the end of the year. Kosman’s sources said Rodriguez continues to have difficulty raising his share, and Lore may eventually become the team’s majority owner. “I wouldn’t be surprised if A-Rod becomes a subservient No. 2 to Lore,” one of the sources said.

Lore refused to confirm or deny the report, telling Kosman that he and Rodriguez still work together on all their decisions.

“I couldn’t imagine having a better partner. He is one of my best friends,” Lore said. “There is no one else I would rather be partners with than Alex.”

A source familiar with both investors said Lore teamed up with Rodriguez in a failed attempt to buy the New York Mets in 2020 because he was “completely mesmerized” by Jennifer Lopez, whom Rodriguez was engaged to at the time. The star quality of Lopez created a lot of financial opportunities for Rodriguez, but those have disappeared since their breakup last year.

“His ability to raise capital went from strong to meaningfully weaker,” one of Kosman’s sources said. “J.Lo validated him.”

Rodriguez is reportedly worth about $500MM, but sources say most of his assets aren’t liquid and can’t be easily transferred to cash that could be used to buy the Wolves. Kosman notes that NBA rules won’t allow Rodriguez to become a partial owner unless he can cover at least 15% of the total purchase price without help from co-investors. That figure would be nearly $200MM with the team’s debt factored in.

If Rodriguez and Lore make their next payment on time, they’ll have the opportunity to buy an additional 40% from current owner Glen Taylor and take over control of the team by the end of next year. But a league source tells Kosman that Taylor won’t be disappointed if the current arrangement falls through because he believes the franchise is now worth more than $2 billion and he can make more by selling it to someone else.

Northwest Notes: A-Rod, Jazz Staff, Russell, Murray

July 14th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

Alex Rodriguez said he has been welcomed around the NBA, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Rodriguez is part of the Timberwolves’ ownership group and will eventually become the majority owner along with business partner Marc Lore.

“I mean, I come at it from a different perspective, being in baseball for about a quarter of a century, and now it’s interesting to take my experience from Major League Baseball, from broadcasting and now being here as an owner,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been great. The NBA has welcomed me with open arms.”

He has been especially impressed with the league office.

“Team ownership is 365, 24/7,” Rodriguez said, “I knew that (NBA commissioner) Adam Silver and his team were great, but they’re even better than what they project. His senior management team, all the way through, they’re really incredible, they add tons of value. And I think they’re great at welcoming people, whether you’re a player, media, owner, executive into the room, and they know how to do that better than anyone.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

New Jazz coach Will Hardy might retain holdovers Bryan Bailey and Irv Roland on his staff, Tony Jones of The Athletic reports. It was previously reported that Alex Jensen and Lamar Skeeter could remain on the staff. The Jazz are also in the market for a top assistant, Jones adds.
D’Angelo Russell is eager to get an extension this offseason, as he told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Obviously every player wants an extension, and you want to be in a position to do that,” the Timberwolves guard said. Russell, who has been the subject of trade rumors, added that his representation has had some dialogue with Minnesota’s front office. He’s also eager to play with the frontcourt duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. “For myself, I’ve always realized that if you put a shooter and a roller next to me, I can make the game easier for everyone around me,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to bringing that to the team.”
Load management will be the way the Nuggets handle Jamal Murray coming off his major knee injury, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets. Murray’s minutes will be limited to the 20-30 minute range at the start of next season and he’ll also have some games off.

Timberwolves Notes: Nuggets Rivalry, Lore, A-Rod, Lloyd, Jovic

June 7th, 2022 at 8:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The comments that Nuggets governor Josh Kroenke‘s made to the press last week about the Timberwolves‘ pursuit of longtime Denver executive Tim Connelly will fuel a rivalry between the two division rivals going forward, opines Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. Kroenke spoke about Minnesota coming through the “side door” to land Connelly and suggested that it was a “desperate” move.

“Ultimately when you go to a stratosphere that some clubs, you say some desperate clubs, are willing to go to, there’s a tier out there that just kind of doesn’t make sense,” Kroenke said of the Nuggets’ decision not to match Connelly’s offer from the Wolves, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.

Rand notes that Denver has now decided to let its lead decision-maker walk twice in the last decade, first with Masai Ujiri, who left for the Raptors in 2013 and won a title with the team in 2019, and now with Connelly.

There’s more out of Minnesota:

Incoming Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore seem intent on using their money to improve the Minnesota front office, a ploy that Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune applauds. In addition to luring Connelly away from Denver, Minnesota has added Matt Lloyd and retained Sachin Gupta to the team’s decision-making brain trust.
The widely-respected Lloyd learned under a variety of scouting styles while with the Bulls and Magic, write Jon Krawczynski and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. He worked with Chicago from 1999-2012, and started with the Magic as an assistant GM in 2012 before becoming the team’s VP of basketball operations for the 2021/22 season.
18-year-old NBA prospect Nikola Jovic, currently playing for Mega Mozzart of the ABA League, recently worked out for the Timberwolves, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Wolfson is skeptical that the 6’10” wing will still be on the board in time for Minnesota to draft him with the No. 19 pick in the 2022 draft. He is currently listed as the No. 24 top prospect on the latest ESPN big board.

Wolves Notes: Connelly, Towns, Russell, A-Rod, Lore

June 3rd, 2022 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

New Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly will make some additions to the team’s front office, starting with longtime Magic executive Matt Lloyd.

However, Connelly made it clear during his introductory press conference on Tuesday that he’s certainly not looking to clean house or make any major, immediate changes to the way the franchise is run, joking that his plan is to “get out of the way (and) hope I don’t mess it up too much,” according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic and Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

“I’m not joining a team that’s broken,” Connelly said. “This is a team that’s trending in the right direction. It’s made a ton of really, really smart decisions, most recently extending (head coach) Chris (Finch) and getting Pat Beverley on the additional one-year (contract). So I’m not here to impede progress, I’m here to promote it, and I’m hopeful that I can learn a ton from the people in the building, and hopefully I can add a little bit of my knowledge to what’s already a very strong core of people.”

Connelly acknowledged that it was a difficult decision to leave Denver for Minnesota, suggesting there were “a lot of sleepless nights” as he weighed the decision. But he believes the Timberwolves have a have a chance to “do something special,” which helped sell him on the move.

Of course, the financial aspect of the Wolves’ offer was also a major selling point, though sources confirmed to The Athletic that Connelly doesn’t technically have a stake in the team’s ownership. His deal calls for him to “benefit financially” if the value of the franchise increases over the life of his contract, per Krawczynski.

“Basically he’s on a bonus program, just like a lot of people are,” majority owner Glen Taylor said when asked about the equity aspect of Connelly’s contract. “If the team does well, he does better.”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Giving Karl-Anthony Towns a super-max extension this offseason should be a no-brainer decision for Connelly, but determining what to do with D’Angelo Russell will be a trickier call, Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune contends. Russell is also extension-eligible as he enters the final year of his current contract, and looks like a possible trade candidate. “I don’t know how or what our roster is going to look like on draft night or into free agency, but certainly this team doesn’t win 46 games without the contributions of them both,” Connelly said during his first media session, per Hine. “It’ll be fun to get to know both guys.”
Hiring Connelly away from Denver is part of a push by incoming Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore to make the club a “world-class” organization, writes La Velle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune. “We want to be first in class in every category,” Rodriguez said this week. “From an arena, to personnel to players, to medical staff, to physical therapy and everything in between. The Minnesota people deserve that. They are starving for a winner and we are going to bring them that.”
Michael Rand of The Star Tribune takes a look at three paths Connelly could take with the Timberwolves’ roster this offseason and beyond.

Northwest Notes: Taylor, Lore, A-Rod, Kroenke, Jazz

May 26th, 2022 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has forged a sound working relationship with minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, proven by their successful recruitment of Denver’s Tim Connelly to head up their front office, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski writes. Taylor, who allowed the duo to design an offer that would be very difficult for the Nuggets to match, enjoys the ambition and energy of Lore and A-Rod and has gained confidence in their ability to complete a major transaction.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The press conference involving Nuggets president/governor Josh Kroenke has been postponed after he recently tested positive for COVID-19. He is one of several members of the organization to test positive this week, according to the team. The press conference, scheduled for today, has been tentatively moved to Tuesday, according to the Denver Post’s Mike Singer (Twitter links).
What are the Jazz seeking to upgrade their roster? A long, rangy wing player who is solid offensively and can defend on the perimeter and switch 1-to-5, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes. However, those players are in high demand throughout the league, which makes the Jazz’s task of finding such a player quite difficult.
The Jazz’s draft workout on Thursday included R.J. Cole (UConn), Tyson Etienne (Wichita State), Johnny Juzang (UCLA), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Akoldah Gak (Australia) and Trevion Williams (Purdue), Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Williams (No. 50 on ESPN’s Best Available list) is the highest-rated among that group of second-round prospects.

Nuggets’ Connelly To Meet This Weekend With Wolves Owner

May 21st, 2022 at 10:06am CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets president Tim Connelly will meet with Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor regarding the top executive position within Minnesota’s organization, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Connelly has already discussed the position extensively with minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and an in-person meeting with Taylor is next in the process, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter links).

As Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets, Lore and Rodriguez have significant influence over the process, but Taylor has to sign off on any deal.

Reports regarding Minnesota’s interest in Connelly surfaced on Wednesday. He has been the head of Denver’s basketball operations since 2013, when he was named vice president of basketball operations and general manager. He was promoted to president in 2017.

Connelly is the first external candidate to be officially linked to the lead basketball job in Minnesota’s front office. Executive vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta, who has been serving as the head of the basketball operations department on an interim basis following the dismissal of Gersson Rosas in September, remains a candidate for the position.

Lore and Rodriguez have pushed to have a proven, prominent exec take over the basketball operations, regardless of the cost. The Nuggets have been aware of Minnesota’s interest in Connelly for some time and don’t appear poised to make a major counter-offer, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.

Northwest Notes: Forrest, Jazz Offseason, A-Rod, Wolves

May 13th, 2022 at 7:17pm CST by Rory Maher

Sarah Todd of The Deseret News wonders what’s next for Jazz guard Trent Forrest. The 23-year-old spent the past two seasons on a two-way deal with Utah after going undrafted out of Florida State, but his contract was converted to a standard deal on the last day of the regular season.

Although that technically made him eligible for the playoffs, Forrest was dealing with a left midfoot sprain, so the conversion was mostly ceremonial. The front office deferred to coach Quin Snyder‘s preference for the 15th roster spot, and Forrest was rewarded after earning the trust of Snyder, sources tell Todd.

As of last week, Forrest was still experiencing pain while rehabbing the injury and had yet to resume on-court work, but it’s not a long-term concern, Todd writes. Forrest will be a restricted free agent this summer if the team tenders him a qualifying offer worth just over $2MM.

Although he’s considered a strong defender, he knows he needs to work on his shot to have lasting success in the NBA.

“This summer is going to be a lot of the same thing,” Forrest said. “I don’t need much pick-and-roll or things like that. A lot of (my work) is just gonna be a lot of left hand finishing and working on my shot.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

In a mailbag column about how the Jazz should approach their offseason, Tony Jones of The Athletic says he believes Utah should keep both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert and surround them with “bigger, longer, more athletic” players who are significantly better defensively. Juancho Hernangomez and Danuel House — two players who were on the verge of being out of the league — both made a big impact on the club due to their length, athleticism and competitive defense, and Jones thinks the Jazz need several more players in that mold. If he were part of the front office, he says he’d try to trade for a second-round pick in the draft and use the taxpayer mid-level exception (projected to be $6.4MM) to acquire players who meet that criteria. Utah does not own a pick at the moment.
After recent rumors that Timberwolves minority owner Alex Rodriguez might be interested in purchasing the Miami Marlins, his PR representative denied the claim. “Alex Rodriguez is 100 percent focused on owning the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx. Any report of him having interest in also buying the Miami Marlins or any other MLB team is entirely false,” said Ron Berkowitz of Berk Communications (via Twitter). A-Rod and co-owner Marc Lore are set to become majority shareholders of the Wolves in 2023/24.
Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News reports that the Timberwolves worked out several draft prospects on Thursday and Friday, including UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Maryland’s Fatts Russell, Alabama’s Keon Ellis, North Carolina’s Kerwin Walton, and Richmond’s Jacob Gilyard (all Twitter links here).

Wolves Notes: Cauley-Stein, Edwards, Beverley, Ownership

March 8th, 2022 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

In an appearance on Darren Wolfson’s The Scoop podcast at SKOR North, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said that Minnesota is considering adding a free agent who could help improve the team’s rebounding numbers.

Asked specifically if the Wolves could bring back veteran center Greg Monroe, who was on a 10-day deal with the club earlier this season, Taylor responded, “We’re looking at a number of possibilities.”

According to Wolfson, one possible target the Wolves have discussed internally is Willie Cauley-Stein, who recently spent time in Philadelphia on a 10-day deal. Cody Zeller, who was waived last month while recovering from a procedure on his knee, isn’t currently considered an option, Wolfson adds.

Here’s more out of Minnesota:

Anthony Edwards has missed the Timberwolves’ last four games due to knee soreness, but Taylor is confident the injury is not a major issue. “We’re dealing with some swelling and some pain,” Taylor told Wolfson. “We just want to buy a little time, but it’s nothing major or anything that will keep him from being out there soon.”
Taylor doesn’t anticipate a significant offseason roster shakeup in Minnesota. “Most players are already signed for next year, so there won’t be major changes,” he told Wolfson.
One player who had been on track for unrestricted free agency this summer was guard Patrick Beverley, but he signed a one-year, $13MM extension with the Wolves in February. Taylor said that was a fairly straightforward negotiation, since both sides had interest in continuing the relationship, and that the main issue was deciding on the length of the contract. Beverley “preferred to add something longer,” according to Taylor, who said the team wanted to maintain some flexibility beyond 2022/23.
Asked by Wolfson if the plan is still for Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore to assume majority control of the Timberwolves in December 2023, Taylor replied, “Probably.” Pressed on whether it could happen sooner than next December or later than that, Taylor said that both scenarios are possible, indicating that nothing is set in stone yet.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, A-Rod, Daigneault, Covington

November 25th, 2021 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves to a victory over Jimmy Butler and the Heat on Wednesday, putting up 33 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists in a game-high 43 minutes. Edwards was a plus-19 in the 12-point win and his performance earned rave reviews from a pair of his teammates with All-Star appearances on their résumés, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes.

“I think we’re watching him grow in front of us, just all around,” said D’Angelo Russell, adding that Edwards “got us over the hump” in the game vs. Miami.

“You need superstars to win in this league now,” Karl-Anthony Towns said of the second-year wing. “We need someone like him. We always talk about the big three. Well, he’s solidified himself. It’s amazing to see him getting better and better every game and figuring it out more and more.”

Edwards is building off his strong second half as a rookie and has boosted his numbers across the board so far this season, further solidifying his place as a long-term cornerstone in Minnesota. In 18 games (35.9 MPG), he has put up 22.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 3.4 APG on .434/.360/.746 shooting.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

How did Alex Rodriguez go from MLB All-Star to co-owner of the Timberwolves? In an in-depth story for The Athletic, Krawczynski explores A-Rod’s entry into the business world and how he teamed up with Marc Lore, his partner in the purchase of the Wolves.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault returned to the sidelines for Wednesday’s contest vs. Utah after missing the team’s three-game road trip to be there for the birth of his first child (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman). Oklahoma City was 0-3 in Daigneault’s absence.
Trail Blazers forward Robert Covington was ejected from Wednesday’s game in Sacramento for throwing his face guard and hitting an official’s foot with it. As Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian relays, head coach Chauncey Billups and star guard Damian Lillard said after the game that it was an accident. “Roco always takes his mask off and tosses it to the side,” Lillard said. “This time he just tossed it and it literally bounced into the referee.” It remains to be seen whether Covington will be fined by the NBA for the incident.