Garnett part of a group seeking to buy T-Wolves
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Garnett wants to come back to Minnesota — as a Timberwolves owner.
The longtime NBA superstar said Tuesday he is part of a group that is hoping to buy the franchise from Glen Taylor, who has owned it since 1994.
Taylor said in a statement he was recently approached by a thirdparty group to discuss the future of the franchise. He said he’s always wanted what’s best for the team’s fans and “will entertain opportunities ” on the ownership structure of the Timberwolves and Lynx, Minnesota’s WNBA team.
Taylor told The Athletic that interested buyers have been told that the franchise must stay in Minnesota, which doesn’t appear to be an issue for Garnett.
ESPN reported that Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf had emerged as serious candidates to buy the team. The Vikings declined comment.
Garnett spent his first 12 seasons in Minnesota, where he was voted NBA MVP in 2004 when the Wolves reached the Western Conference finals. But he was traded to Boston in 2007 and helped the Celtics win the championship the following year, while the Wolves became one of the league’s worst franchises with only one playoff appearance since. In other NBA news:
• The Los Angeles Clippers lost a starter when Patrick Beverley departed the NBA’s campus at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to take care of what was described as an “emergency family matter,” according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Anyone who leaves the NBA’s campus can re-enter only after spending between four and 10 days in quarantine. The timing not only rules out Beverley for the team’s first two scrimmages, against Orlando on Wednesday and Washington on Saturday, but also puts into question Beverley’s availability for the team’s first seeding game July 30 against the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers.
L.A. awarded NWSL club
Actress Natalie Portman and venture capitalist Kara Nortman lead a group that will bring an expansion National Women’s Soccer League team to the Los Angeles area in 2022.
The team, tentatively named Angel City, will bring the league to 11 teams. Louisville FC will join the nine current NWSL clubs next season.
Portman and Nortman are joined by gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, the consortium’s president in the majority-female group. Others involved include actors Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner and Uzo Aduba.
Tech entrepreneur and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, the husband of tennis star Serena Williams, is the lead investor through his firm Initialized Capital.
Among the founding group are more than a dozen former players, including Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach and Julie
Foudy.
Organizers scrap D.C. tournament
The hard-court tournament in the nation’s capital that was supposed to mark the official return of men’s professional tennis amid the pandemic was scrapped Tuesday — but the group in charge of the U.S. Open immediately said the tuneup’s cancellation “in no way impacts” its Grand Slam event.
The Citi Open, scheduled to start with Aug. 13 qualifying in Washington, D.C., was called off because of what tournament manager Mark Ein said are “too many unresolved external issues, including various international travel restrictions as well as troubling health and safety trends.”
The U.S. Open is scheduled to begin main-draw play Aug. 31 without any spectators.
Draisaitl among Hart finalists
The NHL Hart Trophy voters agreed with NHL players in selecting Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers as MVP award finalists.
The finalists were announced by the NHL on Tuesday, and determined by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The three were also named finalists for the Ted Lindsay Trophy, honoring the league’s most outstanding player as voted on by players.