A-Rod May Create WNBA Battle If He Strikes Timberwolves to Seattle

• Alex Rodriguez recently became a partner in the NBA’s Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Lynx.
• According to an insider, Rodriguez plans to move the Timberwolves to Seattle.
• Seattle already has a WNBA team, which would prevent Rodriguez from bringing the Lynx.
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Alex Rodriguez reportedly wants to bring the NBA back to Seattle, but doing so could create conflict for the WNBA.

The former New York Yankees slugger became a minority NBA owner in May when he bought the Minnesota Timberwolves for $ 1.5 billion with business mogul Marc Lore.

Rodriguez is already planning to move the team to Seattle, according to insider Charley Walters of The Pioneer Press.

A-Rod began his MLB career with the Seattle Mariners in 1994. The NBA previously had a Seattle franchise with the Supersonics before moving to Oklahoma City in 2008 to become the Thunder.

Seattle has been a primary destination for an expansion team as the city longed for the return of the NBA. Rodriguez, who will take ownership of the Timberwolves in 2023, could usher in the league’s return.

A-Rod has a WNBA issue and so far has ignored it

Rodriguez and Lore could make a difficult decision about another asset they acquired with the Timberwolves, Minnesota’s WNBA franchise, the Lynx.

Seattle is already home to a WNBA franchise, the Seattle Storm, and the WNBA doesn’t have multiple teams in the same city. Even media capitals like New York and Los Angeles are not yet seen as suitable markets to support multiple WNBA franchises, let alone a smaller city like Seattle.

Rodriguez didn’t even recognize the lynx during his opening press conference. His reported desire to move the Timberwolves to Seattle could suggest that he is considering the famous WNBA franchise less of a priority.

If Rodriguez and Lore left the Lynx in Minnesota while they moved the rest of their operation to Seattle, they would lose the efficient ownership proximity for one of the WNBA’s most iconic franchises.

By all standards, the Lynx have been a more successful franchise than the Timberwolves since their inception in 1999. While the Timberwolves missed the playoffs 16 of the past 17 years and have never won an NBA title, the Lynx have been an all-time playoff team, winning four WNBA championships.

Former Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor is considered an “ardent champion” of women’s football, having treated the Lynx on a par with the Timberwolves during his tenure. But Taylor may have forfeited his power to keep the two franchises in the same town when it was sold to Rodriguez and Lore.

Taylor was recently sued by minority owner Meyer Orbach, who said in his lawsuit that Taylor did not include a specific language in a sales contract to keep the Timberwolves and Lynx in Minnesota.

“We generally don’t comment on any pending legal matters,” Taylor said last week, according to Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj. “I stand by my previous statements and my commitment to keep the Timberwolves and Lynx in Minnesota.”

Still, there aren’t any set contractual restrictions to keep Lore and Rodriguez from relocating the Timberwolves and Lynx to a new town if they choose.

The only thing that could slow the move down is the NBA’s Board of Governors, which must approve the relocation of a franchise and an active agreement between the organization and Minneapolis. The Timberwolves and Lynx have a lease to play at the Target Center until 2035 and there is a $ 50 million penalty for breaking it.

But Rodriguez and Lore could just pay the fine if they want to reschedule the team beforehand.