New MN Timberwolves Owners Fire Dozens of Employees

A few months ago the Minnesota Timberwolves got their change in majority ownership approved by the NBA Board of Governors, finally bringing an end to their years-long rollercoaster purchasing process that incinerated the initial bridge built between them and longtime owner, Glen Taylor.

Since the moment Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez were rumored as potential buyers, there have been questions surrounding their short and long-term intentions in Minnesota. Early on, there were also major doubts on whether or not they could even afford or finance the multi-billion dollar purchase of an NBA franchise.

Of course, we’ve learned a lot about A-Rod and Lore, as Wolves owners, in that time. Their biggest home run has come in the form of Tim Connelly, who they hired away from Denver in 2022, to become Minnesota’s unlikely president of basketball operations.

Beyond the basketball court and front office, however, are dozens of employees who work on the business side of the Timberwolves Timberwolves organization, many of which have been there under Glen Taylor for decades.

Business staff sees cuts by Minnesota Timberwolves

Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez didn’t just buy the Timberwolves either. They also purchased the Minnesota Lynx, along with the many employees that work throughout both organizations. And this week, we saw the darker side to a sweeping change in majority ownership.

On Wednesday, news broke out of the Sports Business Journal that the Minnesota Timberwolves, under Lore and A-Rod, laid off as many as 40 of their employees, on the business side, a roughly 10% cut in personnel.

New T’Wolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez laid off roughly 40 employees today in what sources called an “operational restructuring” following about a seven-week assessment period.

The layoffs were from non-basketball departments, with sources saying staff was let go from business operations spanning human resources, marketing, sales and creative. The moves did not impact dedicated staff members from the WNBA’s Lynx — also owned by Lore and Rodriguez — but did affect under 10% of the full and part-time personnel who cross over between the T-Wolves, Lynx and G-League Iowa Wolves.

Sports Business Journal

Lore and A-Rod have been running the show since June. Talking with my own sources inside the Minnesota Timberwolves organization, these layoff came without warning, and mostly to the shock of those who were fired, and their co-workers.

Timberwolves business employees worried this time would come

At this point, it is unknown whether or not they plan to hire new people for the jobs they laid off on Wednesday. Rather than make changes out of the gate, however, they wanted to observe before acting, according to the above report, and another out of the Star Tribune.

Since becoming controlling owners of the Timberwolves and Lynx in late June, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have been evaluating the business side of the franchises.

This week, that evaluation resulted in layoffs of what a source said were roughly 35 employees as part of Lore and Rodriguez’s restructuring of the franchises.

The staff reduction touched on several business-side departments not related to the basketball operations of the Wolves and Lynx. The business departments include communications, marketing and sales.

Chris Hine – Star Tribune

Sports Business Journal estimated the full-time staff supporting the Timberwolves and Lynx was somewhere around 220 employees prior to the layoffs. The NBA average is reportedly around 200 employees.

There has been no comment or public response from either Lore or Rodriguez. Whether the moves were financial in nature or not, it’s impossible to ignore that the Wolves new owners just cut a luxury tax check worth $90 million this offseason.

Related: MN Timberwolves Sign Familiar Guard for Final Roster Spot

Although public perception of Glen Taylor was not welcomed, sources tell me that there has been trepidation internally regarding the transition from Taylor’s 20+ year tenure as owner, to Lore and Rodriguez.

Because of that internal concern, the move Wednesday isn’t as blindsiding as it would have been, especially after multiple high-ranking executives previously left on their own accord. It will be interesting to see what the messaging and next steps internally are from the organizations new leaders.