FanPost

A guess on Glen's new owner


Interesting to see tweets from media types today that Glen has a potential buyer for the team, and the buyer is not from Minnesota. The rumor has advanced from the "this might be the case" category to the "definitely have a buyer who is not from Minnesota" category. So who could that be?

I have a guess. I actually posted this as a comment on a little visited fan post on Jet Chang, but I think it is worth revisiting now, because this is a real potential buyer, and there are some signals pointing this way. The signing of AK-47 after the Batum chase ended just strengthens the case. The fact that Glen is opening up about it after AK and Shved look good means he's pretty happy, and so is the new buyer. JMHO...

Ok, here is the guess:

The new owner could be the Ghermezian Family, owners of Mall of America.

My previous comment names them as billionaires who would have an interest in building a team with an international flavor and drawing power. I made this comment about 3 weeks ago, and all events since then have bolstered my hypothesis. We are definitely chasing players with an international background -- seems that way to me anyway.

Read below to see why I think that way.

hmmmm.... some pieces fell into place

This is all pure conjecture and most likely wrong, but still an interesting hypothesis worth considering and discussing.

1. Glen has a potential buyer interested in the Wolves. It has been referred to in the press, sourced from Taylor’s office. Nothing that can be talked about at this point, but he has made it clear that he is looking for someone to take over the team.

2. Glen would like to keep the Wolves in Minnesota. I thank him for that.

3. That says that the potential buyer is someone that Glen believes would keep the Wolves in MN.

4. So who would the buyer be? There is a lot of money in the Twin Cities, but not a lot of folks in the billionaire category that would be interested in a basketball team. Others probably know more about this, so I’m just putting that out there as part question, not a solid assertion. But I’ll run with that for the sake of building an argument.

5. So if the potential buyer is not a MN billionaire, who else would qualify as a buyer of the Wolves?

Here is how I think about it:

The potential owner is someone who would benefit from tourist traffic by building an international team.

Glen seems to be aiming at getting international players. We argue on the value of Luc Batum, the fact that we may be overpaying and so forth. What if the direction has come down from Glen to recruit high character, attractive players from a variety of international locales? That would explain the single minded pursuit of Batum. It would also explain the courtship of Shved, and perhaps the recruitment of Jet Chang to the team. Connect these dots, and it could spell out a deliberate international strategy.

Are there any billionaires with strong financial interests in Minnesota, that would also benefit from making Minnesota a more attractive destination for international travelers? After all, we are not exactly in the same league as Miami, San Francisco or NYC as a travel destination.

Well yes, actually, there is a family of billionaires that would gain benefit from increased foreign travel to MSP. The Ghermazian Family.

Who?

Many will recognize the name. They own the Triple Five Group, which owns the Mall of America. Over 40 million visitors per year, many from Asia and Europe. They are Canadian, and also own the West Edmonton Mall, the largest mall in North America. The West Edmonton Mall houses a theme park, skating rink, and at one time the Houston Oilers practiced there.

These guys have the money, and they have the experience with creating entertainment venues. They almost certainly would see the synergy between a team with international fan interest and their basic business of providing a shopping and multi-faceted entertainment venue - here in Minnesota.

So that is my hypothesis:

Glen has a potential buyer. The buyer wants a team with international flavor. Glen is directing the FO to put together a winning team, a profitable team, with enough international players from major countries or language groups to be recognized as an international team. If he succeeds, Glen sells the Wolves, his heirs get even richer, and Minnesota basketball is a long term winner.