Anthony Edwards just got done winning a gold medal with Team USA, at the Paris Olympics. Now, he’ll get a short break, before the Minnesota Timberwolves convene for training camp.
It’s a big 2024-25 season for a lot of people inside the Wolves organization. Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Ant are all getting very expensive. According to Spotrac , Minnesota is projected to pay a $105 million luxury tax bill, at the end of next season, the second highest in the NBA.
Glen Taylor has already agreed to pay whatever it takes this season, and so has prospective majority owner, Marc Lore. But those tones will change if the Wolves begin to struggle.
Speaking of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ ongoing ownership war, which is now expected to bleed deep into the 2024-25 NBA season, an interesting report dropped out of Miami, recently.
Anthony Edwards tied to Tim Connelly… and A-Rod?
It’s no secret that Timberwolves well-respected and very popular president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, was originally brought in by Marc Lore, and to a lesser extent, Alex Rodriguez. Without those two originally agreeing to purchase the franchise, Connelly is not in Minnesota.
But according to what well-known radio show host and former ESPN personality, Dan LeBatard, is being told, Anthony Edwards could be tied to Tim Connelly, thus Lore and A-Rod, too…
“I have partial information on something that will be explosive if it happens and I’m just gonna set you up for something here that is speculative, right now, but it is something to keep an eye on. Glen Taylor is the owner of the Timberwolves and I don’t think anyone considers him a good owner. He sold the team to Alex Rodriguez.
There’s an arbitration coming up, in which we’re going to find out who gets that team. Is it gonna be Glen Taylor or is it gonna be A-Rod, and this is what you need to watch out for. OK. If Glen Taylor keeps the team, what’s going to happen, after that, is they’re gonna lose their team president, Tim Connelly.
He’s gonna leave because he signed a long term deal, with the A-Rod team and I think it’s contingent, I believe, on A-Rod being the owner. Everybody thought A-Rod was going to be the owner of that team. If Tim Connelly leaves, the next step on that is Anthony Edwards possibly wanting to leave with him, and requesting a trade to Miami.”
Dan LeBatard – The Dan LeBatard Show
For those of us who are well-versed in the last two years of Minnesota Timberwolves basketball, and the ownership fiasco that has taken place over the last six -8 months, this clip gets difficult to listen to. There is so much information in LeBatard’s rant that is just, flatly, false, that you can’t take it seriously.
LeBatard rant on Anthony Edwards + Miami Heat trade rumors has lots of intrigue… few facts
Tim Connelly is a Marc Lore guy, not an A-Rod guy. At least, that’s what local media has been peddling since Tim was hired. LeBatard seems to think Rodriguez is buying majority ownership of the Wolves. He is not.
A-Rod is a minority partner to Marc Lore , who would be the sole majority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, if he wins his arbitration case vs Glen Taylor, then gets voted in by the NBA owners he hopes to join. Neither of those things is a given.
This independent arbitration date that is ‘coming up’ isn’t happening until December, at the earliest. LeBatard says that Connelly “signed a long-term deal with A-Rod”, but he didn’t. His contract had an out clause in it that the president of basketball operations opted out of this offseason.
Related: Steph Curry Pokes The Bear (Anthony Edwards) With Olympic Trash Talk
Then, Tim signed a new deal (with a raise) written up by Glen Taylor’s people, which gives him another opt out next offseason. So, Connelly staying in Minnesota is not contractually contingent on Lore being the majority owner, let alone A-Rod, who won’t hold that title, even if the deal does go through.
Yes, it is possible Connelly leaves the Timberwolves, if his guy Marc Lore (not A-Rod) loses the ownership battle. But it’s not guaranteed. Much of that decision would come down to money. Taylor will pay whatever, if he sees it as important to winning. He’s proven that.
But would he foot the bill for what might be the most expensive basketball operations contract in the NBA ? That could be what it will cost to keep Tim Connelly around.
Edwards was with Minnesota Timberwolves before Connelly and A-Rod
But even if Tim Connelly leaves, there has been ABSOLUTELY zero reporting that Anthony Edwards is, in any way, tied to him, in that way. Remember, Edwards got here two years before Connelly did, and he was drafted by Gersson Rosas. In no way is there a logical “if he leaves, I leave” connection between the two.
But it is easy to connect the dots on where this report is likely coming from. The same name that LeBatard said in the clip about 371 times: “A-Rod, A-Rod, A-Rod”. Rodriguez and LeBatard have been growing tighter and tighter in recent years. Both have lots of ties to the Miami area, too.
Related: Minnesota Timberwolves 2024-25 Over/Under Win Total is Set
It wouldn’t surprise me if this all came from a direct conversation between Le Batard and A-Rod. It sure sounds that way, to me. No matter, I feel pretty comfortable saying that Anthony Edwards will be here, for at least the next 3-5 years.
From there, it’s the NBA, so anything can happen. But Ant has made it clear he isn’t after the bright lights of New York or Hollywood. And he isn’t he up at night thinking about the beach or nightlife in Miami, either.
As long as Edwards can compete for NBA titles with the Minnesota Timberwolves, I expect him to stick around, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
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