Reports: Glen Taylor’s Highest Ranking Wolves Employees are Job Hunting
The Minnesota Timberwolves are back on the Target Center court Saturday night vs the Portland Trail Blazers. Entering the matchup, the 29-23 Wolves stand as the 7th seed in the Western Conference.
While the 2024-25 season has been a bumpy ride early, this team is without a doubt getting better as the new core of Julius Randle, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert get more game reps together.
That’s good news because, the NBA trade deadline passed Thursday, with nothing more than a couple of blockbuster rumors (one including Kevin Durant) to show for it. Now, the Wolves have no other choice than to ride out its current roster through the end of the season.
Minnesota Timberwolves arbitration ruling expected Monday
But just because the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t make any player personnel moves before the trade deadline, that doesn’t mean there isn’t be a major announcement on the horizon. Like on Monday, when we are finally expected to find out who will win the Wolves’ long, drawn-out ownership battle.
According to Jon Krawczynski (The Athletic), it’s then that we can expect a binding arbitration ruling to crown either incumbent Glen Taylor or his challenger, Marc Lore, as rightful majority owner of a Timberwolves franchise that has been in ownership flux for this entire decade.
Reporting on these arbitration hearings so far has been down the middle. Neither side of the negotiation has given much of any inclination as to who the announced victor will be. But there is one detail emerging from the ongoing situation at Mayo Clinic Square that may look quite revealing, in retrospect.
Local insiders: Top Glen Taylor staffers are looking for new work…
According to Minnesota Timberwolves insider Dane Moore, there are high-ranking Glen Taylor hires who have been interviewing for new jobs recently. Obviously, that lends one to believe they are more nervous about their current employment status than what is being led on by the Glen Taylor side of these hearings.
“They are waiting for a decision from the lawyers on on the arbitration. But some of the things that have been moving in the background, that you and I know of. People at high positions in the organization, right now, are interviewing elsewhere, that are Glen Taylor hires.
I mean, that’s a very strong indication to me, that high ranking officials in the Timberwolves organization have been taking interviews with other organizations. So that’s my my interpretation of the situation.”
Dane Moore – Dane Moore Podcast
Moore isn’t the only one hearing these interview murmurs in the Wolves organization. Darren “Doogie” Wolfson (KSTP) took things a step further during his late-week edition of “Scoops” on Mackey and Judd a couple days ago, by naming one of the longtime Glen Taylor employees who has been “looking around” for new work.
MN Timberwolves CEO Ethan Casson is one of those exploring job market
Minnesota Timberwolves CEO Ethan Casson joined the Timberwolves over 25 years ago and has taken on a bunch of different roles within the organization. According to Wolfson, Casson is one of those high-ranking Glen Taylor loyalists who’s been out “looking around” for other jobs. Doogie even mentions the Houston Texans’ recent hire of a new team president as one position Casson had taken interest in.
“Ethan Casson, high high up [in the Wolves organization]…well the Houston Texans recently hired a team president. Like, [Casson has] looked around. So what does that tell you? Because he knows everything. So, he has looked around, minimum. What does that tell you, potentially? What does he know?”
Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)
Ethan Casson was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves around just before the turn of the millenium. He then worked his way loyally up the organizational ladder to Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships.
After more than a decade of service in Minnesota, Casson flew West in 2010 to join the San Francisco 49ers as their Vice President of Corporate Sales, Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Ethan then returned to the Wolves in 2016, but while with the Niners, he is credited for securing their $220 million stadium naming rights sponsorship with Levi Strauss (Wikipedia).
Related: MN Timberwolves Attempted Blockbuster Trade for Kevin Durant at Deadline
Just reading between the lines from Wolfson, it seems pretty likely that Casson not only had interest in the Texans team president job, but that probably interviewed for it too. I have little doubt there are more Glen Taylor loyalists who are worried about their jobs this weekend.
Any attorney who has dug into the paperwork being dispute have argued in favor of Lore and A-Rod. They may have pushed out some payments but those delays seem to all be in line with how the purchase agreement was written. In my eyes, anything other than a Lore + A-Rod victory on Monday would be a surprise.
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