Jim Souhan: Why would Glen Taylor sell Timberwolves, Lynx now?

MINNEAPOLIS — In case Glen Taylor didn’t see my Slack message at the Minnesota Star Tribune, here it is:

Glen: I get it.

I understand why you don’t want to sell your hoops organization.

No one has any idea whether you — owner of the Lynx, Timberwolves and a certain local newspaper — will win your dispute against prospective buyers Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez.

But everyone who follows the bouncing ball should understand why you changed your mind.

Your teams have never been this good, this well-run, or this fascinating, at the same time.

The Lynx are in the WNBA semifinals, with Game 2 against Connecticut scheduled for Tuesday night at Target Center. The Lynx have won four titles but have never before produced a season of such unexpected success.

The Timberwolves are months removed from the high point in franchise history — a wild comeback victory in Game 7 of the league quarterfinals on the home floor of the defending NBA champion Nuggets.

On Friday, Wolves boss Tim Connelly traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round draft pick.

Before last season, the Timberwolves had played in the Western Conference finals once — in 2004. At that point, the Lynx had never won a playoff series.

By the time the Lynx started winning titles, the Wolves were an embarrassment.

When the Wolves returned to relevance a few years ago, the Lynx were trying to find their footing as a rebuilding franchise.

Now, both teams are thriving and are led by basketball savants.

Both also could wind up together in the Hall of Fame. Cheryl Reeve is a lock. Connelly, as the player who drafted Nikola Jokic, then built another team that could beat him, may be a title away.

So why would Taylor want to sell now? He literally has a front-row seat to two of the best shows in Minnesota.

Monday, the Wolves held their annual Media Day. Connelly and Wolves coach Chris Finch couldn’t comment on the Towns trade because it is not yet official, but Wolves players offered a mixture of remorse at losing a generous teammate in Towns and optimism about playing with a physical force like Randle and a proven winner in DiVincenzo.

“Our room believes we can win a championship,” Connelly said.

Connelly said he believes Edwards can become one of the best players in the league, if not the best. Edwards is coming off a summer in which he won a gold medal in Paris while learning from players like Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

Lynx star Napheesa Collier just won her second Olympic gold medal in the midst of her most impressive season, in which she won the Defensive Player of the Year award and finished second in the MVP voting.

While Connelly augmented his roster with shocking trades, Reeve revived her franchise with stealth moves. Point guard Courtney Williams and post Alanna Smith were not considered blue-chip free agents, but both helped make the Lynx a remarkably efficient offensive team and a remarkably tenacious defensive team.

Whatever happens during the WNBA semifinals, Reeve soon will face the same challenge as Connelly: What risks do you take to improve a winning team?

Connelly chose to trade an All-Star in Towns, in a deal that brings increased depth and future financial flexibility and will also test Randle’s ability to play in a flowing offense and make big shots under pressure.

The Wolves’ braintrust has no reason to criticize Towns upon his departure, but you wonder if his performance in a handful of playoff games made them crave a trade.

In four of the Wolves’ last six losses of the 2024 playoffs, Towns shot 30% or worse — and kept shooting.

In Game 4 against Denver, he went 5 for 18 from the field. In Game 1 against Dallas, he was 6 for 20. In Game 2 against Dallas, he went 4 for 16. In Game 3, he went 5 for 18.

That may not be why the Wolves traded him ... but that might have made the decision easier.

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