Glen Taylor reflects on legacy with Minnesota Timberwolves
MANKATO, Minn. — Glen Taylor is 82 years old and he might be on the cusp of selling the Timberwolves — might be because so far the new ownership group has not made all the necessary payments.
One scenario would be to recruit Taylor as a minority investor to help close the gap on cash, but you don't get the sense the two parties have done a lot of back and forth.
"If you recall the way that the transaction was put together, they were going to make the payments over three years. So my expectations were, at that time, that they would take advantage of these two or three years to learn about running the club and see how I did things. If they wanted to change things or if they thought I was doing things that could be done better. I'm always open to suggestions," Taylor said. "I think whatever they should have done, they've already done or haven't done, and they better be prepared because it's they're going to have the ownership in the next six months here."
What has been elusive since he bought the team: winning a championship — and billionaires are not used to losing.
"I'm very disappointed because I think at some years we had the talent to do it," Taylor said. "But the injuries have just hurt us... And we haven't stepped up to the plate when people have recovered to."
He does not see himself as an owner or an entrepreneur as much as something else.
"I'm a teacher. That's what that's was the gift that God gave me, is to be a teacher," Taylor said. "I'm very good at it. I'm very good at motivating people. I'm very good at having people following me. I'm very good at getting people enthused, and it's just the gift that I've always had."
His latest project: a $172 million donation to small towns through farming. He grew up on a farm, so now he wants to raise money from his land venture to fund small towns.
"We had a community in Iowa that came to us and needed a firetruck. And they bought a good used one, but they only had half the money," Taylor said. "The community could only raise half the money that they needed, but they definitely needed a firetruck for the firemen and community around there. And we contributed money so they can complete the deal."
Growing up rural and serving in the state senate is what changed him that way — when he dealt with problems people were facing that had no easy answers.
"When you're in the Senate, there's another whole group of people out there that are misfortunate, you learn, 'Oh, there's another whole group of people out here.'" Taylor said.
So he enters the final innings of life, still with the vigor for challenges, like buying the Star Tribune.
"I think it's an excellent tool for the citizens of Minnesota to know what's going on in the world," Taylor said. "The paper's divided into what's happening in the world, what's happening in social circles, what's happening for you and I in sports, and in a lot of different areas — foods and stuff like that. So I saw it as an asset, and a very difficult one that's going to have a tough time in the future because of the competition of the different news media."
And if this is his last chapter of ownership of the Wolves, he's content with his legacy to the hometown fans.
"Mostly what people say to me, 'Glen, we really appreciate that you're the guy that saved the Timberwolves for Minnesota.' And that won't change. I think people will still look at it that Glen Taylor was the guy who saved Minnesota," Taylor said.