LIVE | Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore speak in Las Vegas

LIVE | Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore speak in Las Vegas

respect and admiration for the way Mark has conducted himself his entire life. If you look at his business background is just synonymous with winning everything he does. You never want to bet against a guy like Mark. And I think our complimentary set of skills is he come the last 30 years in the world of starters company being an entrepreneur taking you know multiple business huge exits and I have the last 30 years in sports where I’ve cut my teeth. I’ve had some tremendous mentors along the way and this is dreamed in my summer league when I was an 18y old 17-year-old in instructional league playing in Seattle. I started thinking about one day, could I have this opportunity? So, I think we’re going to work very well together. We make decisions together. We talk sometimes four or five times a day and we’re excited to get started. Yeah, just to build on what Alex said, um you know, I had a saying when I was in the startup world for all this time, I would always u have to look at the back of someone’s baseball card before I hired them. And and literally now He actually has his own baseball card and and it you know Alex’s track record is is impeccable and um you know I think it’s more that we share the same set of values and we have the same vision for what we want and links organizations to be that really is the glue that binds us and uh and we are great friends and we have mutual respect um but we also have complimentary skills so I think problems with different life experiences and it seems that we always get to a better answer than any one of us would get to alone. Sometimes you know you think you have the right answer and you talk it through and answer molded like a piece of clay and uh it reminds me of you know having co-founders in startups where you know it’s it’s sometimes it’s it’s lonely when you’re doing it alone and I think it’s you know fun to have someone that you respect um throughout the whole journey with you. I don’t know how I would have survived the last 18 months without Alex and it was a really really tough period. So um and now hopefully great times to come. Mark, I’ll start with you on this one. In all of our discussions over the last few years, the topic of innovation is always constant. I know one of your top priorities is to create two of the most admired sport franchises in the world. Can you speak to how innovation will lead in this effort? Yeah, I mean, you know, as a startup founder, it’s all about innovation. It’s about being disruptive. Um, not doing things the conventional way. And, you know, we’ve got a clean slate here to rethink how things are done, not just accept the way they are. And, um, you know, we have big ideas on how to innovate, on how to do things in a way that will separate us from from others, you know, in the way that’s been done in the past. You know, starting with Jump. It’s a company Alex and I co-founded. uh we announced it today. It’s a it’s a dynamic real time uh integrated ticketing exchange sort of nextgen ticketing exchange and a full fan experience. And uh that’ll be the first uh of many hopefully things that we do to show that we’re um you know being leaders and not just following. Um and if you guys have any questions about it, founder Jordy CEO is actually here as well. But it’s really cool. It’s it’s basically you can I’ll just give you one bit of tech. It’s very cool. You could you could dynamically move to any seat in the arena uh in real time. So if somebody leaves in the fourth quarter, that seat opens up in a reverse auction. Somebody can just buy that seat for five or 10 bucks and move to it. So the the the arena will always be filled at the bottom even if people leave. And that’s just one aspect of it, but it’s filled with little nuggets like that. Um and really cool stuff and we look forward to implementing in the in the season uh upcoming with the Timberwolves. Yeah. And for our friends out there, I mean, it’s basically like an app just like Uber. You just press the four seats, you move in, you can watch the last, you know, quarter, you know, from the floor and if somebody paid $1,000, maybe uh you you watch the last quarter for $150. Then you get your selfie, you get the experience. And, you know, that was the inception of that was a conversation that Mark and I had around four years ago. Um, we never had any money to get into, you know, stadiums and we kind of uh bonded over this. So, if you go into a stadium when we were little kids, you pay two bucks, you get in the upper deck, the cheapest seat, and then you kind of work your way down there kind of maneuvering the ushers. That’s what we had to do. And uh but it was always very frustrating to me as a 10-year-old boy that I would look down and you have all these empty seats behind home plate. And I’m like, why are those seats empty? I mean, so it’s kind of creating Airbnb and Uber inside the arena, inside the stadium. So, I’m really excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun. That’s something we share as well. The ushers, man, they’re tough. They’re tough. They get tough. Some cities, some stadiums, and Pedro will tell you this. My buddy Pete’s been with me for 30 years. He’s been kicked out of every major league stadium, and uh he’s still here. He’ll probably get kicked out today. Final question for you both. Marco, I’ll start with you. Um how important is the Minnesota community to the future of these franchises? And how do you plan to make an impact in the Twin Cities? Yeah, I mean, it starts with just just being present. I think, you know, we think about the community the same way we do the team. you know, we want to invest in both. Um, it’s very important to us. Um, the fans are part of the community and the community is a part of the fans base and and the team. It’s all one. And so, um, yeah, just being being present, giving back, showing up, um, and and making an impact where we see the opportunity to make a real impact. So, yeah, and I would just add to that, you know, the community and the fan base are the real stakeholders of of these two teams. And Mark and I are fortunate enough to have the wherewithal to be able to steward these two franchises. Uh the community is everything and the best thing you can do for a community is win because I’ve been around sports for 30 years and in a world that’s so divided, you know, sports and music brings people together. And uh I’ve seen the way Minnesota that that arena and I guess the best compliment came from Mike Green who’s an absolute legend uh who’s the head voice of U ABC and ESPN. and he said, “From all the plays I’ve been to, Minnesota and Target was one of the loudest, most passionate in the whole NBA.” And that’s a compliment that I took, you know, to heart and so proud of our fan base. We know that locally in Minnesota, but to hear a national icon like Mike say that was was really, really cool. And obviously, what we do in the community, I think this franchise has done some wonderful things in the community for a long time. Mark and I hope to extend that because without the community, there is no teams. No doubt. All right, we’re going to open it up for questions now. And as a reminder, this is being livereamed, so there is a microphone for media members to ask questions. Please wait until you are called upon and then identify yourself and your media affiliation before asking your question. And we will start with John. John Kzinski with the athletic. For both of you, when you first arrived, the the sort of economic landscape of the NBA has changed pretty dramatically to where it is now. I just wonder what you guys think is the key to building a competitor and a sustainable competitor in this market where we’re seeing teams have to make really hard decisions with key players and second aprons and and those things and how you view what what’s going to be the key to navigating that for the Timberwolves in the league. Yeah, I mean two things come to mind. One is creating um culture a culture where the best players in the world want to come play that they want to come to Minnesota. I think that’s really important. Um and then I think second is being willing to invest um you know pay the tax and invest in the team. Um you know we we think about it like we do a startup where you know startups lose money but they’re investing because it’s creating enterprise value over the long term. And I think that’s the way we think about it is investing in the team in winning creates long-term franchise value. And it’s not over the next three to five years but 10 20 the next 50 years even. So we’re prepared to invest. prepared to to lose money to to create a winning culture, but but a sustainable winning culture, not just a a one year and big flashy move. Like we’re being very methodical about the decisions we make and we’re thinking in every decision what’s in the best interest of the long-term um you know building a long-term sustainable culture of winning. Yeah, John, I think you know when you look at organizations I mean with my experience you know having um played for three ownership groups u Mr. Yamamuto used to own uh uh the Seattle Mariners, Tom Hicks um in Texas and then George Steinbrunner. And what I’ve learned is I think organizations uh sometimes overestimate what they can do uh they overestimate what they can do in the short term and under estimate what they can do in the long run to be able to make decisions today and what are the ramifications in the next three, five, seven, 10 years versus going for the head fake and try to get it all at once. And I think for us, we have to thread the needle between being uber aggressive when it’s time, but yet being very disciplined about running a good business, making sure that we’re surrounding and and our young players with the best people around them, both on the court and coaching. And continuity is a big part. I think one of the last biggest arbitrage arbitragees in our game today in all sports is is continuity. And you saw that with uh Oklahoma City. I mean, they came to our place three three or four years ago, lost in that one playoff game, and you think, well, what are they going to do? Are they going to panic? Are they going to, you know, break the team up? No, they doubled down, continue with their continuity, build on it, and didn’t even hit the strike and won a world title, and now they’re well positioned for the next many, many years. So, I think that’s a good role model for us and and other teams. Mark, for you talking about the the just in general, what do you think about kind of the accessibility of of the game to the average fan? Whether it be through, you know, rising broadcast fees to watch games, rising ticket prices, and just kind of the line you have to walk as owners to make money, but also make sure you’re growing the game, growing the fan base, and making the game, whether it’s in person or on television in the future, accessible to to average fans. Yeah, I think that’s a really important question and something that we really need to dig into. I think we’re going to try to make it as as accessible as possible. The mission of my my startup Wonder is to make great food more accessible. So, I’m I’m I’m definitely obsessed about the idea of of making great product more accessible and it’s going to be the same uh with the Timber and Links as well. We just have to figure out what’s the best way to do it. But I think in that area, we’re going to lean in. Um so, we just have to figure it out. put you on the spot, but since we were talking about getting kicked out of arenas earlier, just for the record, were you ever kicked out of the OB? Out of where? Out of the Out of where? Out of the Orange Bowl. Oh, out of the Orange Bowl. That’s probably the one stadium I didn’t get kicked out of. Nobody got kicked out of the Orange Bowl. No, but but also like I’ve been on the board of the University of Miami for 20 plus years and the ushers are very slow and they’re a little bit older and when I was 10, Tim, I can move pretty good. I had a good first step. Three years ago, we spoke here uh courtside for a few minutes and you acknowledge that you were still learning this world. I mean, obviously you’re you came from a different sport. How much have you learned? how how comfortable are you in the NBA space and just understanding not just the intricacies of the game, but why teams make the decisions they’re making and things of that? Like what has this learning process been like for you over these three years and how comfortable are you now that maybe you weren’t in 21 or 22 when you started this? Yeah, I mean Tim, I remember that and um you know, three years have gone by pretty quickly. Um I would say that me personally, I’m still in the very beginning stages of my learning curve. Uh, I spent, you know, the last 40 years studying baseball. I still study baseball every day. I love it. I find myself learning more and more every single day. I’m a real student of the game of baseball. Um, while probably 70% doesn’t transfer, about 30% does transfer, and that’s culture. That’s treating players to the to with high integrity, giving them the best that you can give them as far as, you know, whether it’s travel, hotels, food, uh, PT, all these things that are really important. And I think that’s where Mark and I make a good team because I come at it from the locker room and how important that room is and how precious that room is. Um, but I still got a lot of work to do. Probably rounding first base if if I’m being generous to myself. Uh, Steve Ashurner NBA.com. Even even newer benefit from franchise histories and this franchise has had I guess an aranged legend for quite a while in Kevin Garnett. Do you anticipate any conversations or maybe have you already had conversations with him about somehow coming back into the fold? I mean, he he’s the goat in Minnesota and we have a tremendous respect for for KG and everything he’s accomplished and we would we would love to u you know, get closer to him and and we know the fans uh you know want to see that and and we want to see that too. So, you can keep going. Um, I would just say I I’ve been an enormous fan of Kevin. We’re kind of similar ages. We both came out in similar drafts. I don’t know if it was 93 John draft or 95. We’re both number one picks. Both came out of high school. So, I I watched him. I tracked him closely. If anything that’s important to our fan base is going to be important to us. And obviously, uh, he means a great deal to our fan base. And, uh, and Mark and I are going to be working on that. Uh Mark Spears, ESPN landscape for A-Rod. Um when did you why basketball one and two, uh you’re making history terms of Hispanic ownership in in the NBA? Want to see what that means to you and and is it something you take a lot of pride in? Mark, give me the first part of your question. Uh why basketball? Oh, why basketball? Um well, we tried a baseball and we failed. We try to buy the Mets and there’s a guy by the name of Steve Cohen that has a pretty deep wallet and now Steve is doing some wonderful things with the New York Mets. The dirty little secret is I grew up a Mets fan and uh 86 when they won the title. Um hard to believe that that game six and seven, 60 million people watched that game seven and 86. I watched every pitch of I think like 30 World Series in a row. Every pitch including the two twins champion. Um, you know, I met with uh with Wick from uh Boston Celtics uh GPE and uh about five years ago in the process when Mark and I were trying to take a run at the Mets and he kind of I was asking him some advice about, you know, baseball and uh some of the things he’s learned in his practices with Boston. And when the meeting ended, the dinner ended in New York, he said, you know, you should look into the NBA if this doesn’t work out. And funnily enough, when uh Mark and I came in, he said, “He finally listened to me.” So I I’m I’m just a big admire of of the NBA, the brand, what Adam Silver and his group have done over the last many many years, going back to David Sterns. I remember watching Magic and Bird every single Sunday on CBS. Then they passed the baton to Michael and then LeBron and so on and so forth. And if you see the growth over the last seven or eight years, it’s just remarkable. And I also think, Mark, that the fact that I know nothing about basketball and I’m literally just trying to study as much as I can, I think is going to help me because when I ask Coach Finch or or or uh Matt or Dell Dems, I’m asking him questions because I don’t know and I want to get educated. Um, and I think Mark and I both take that same approach. Yeah. I mean, look, for for my Hispanic people in the community, I think this is something that is pretty awesome. And I take um you know with tremendous gratitude and humility um and it’s the Hispanic community, the black and brown community and I’m so thankful to Adam Silver and the rest of the board that they allowed someone like myself with a background of sports and being a minority I think is just pretty awesome. And the other thing I will say about athletes, I think athletes are very underrated as about their capacity of how great business people they can be both men and women. I think people overlook them. They they don’t think they’re as smart as they are, but they’re brilliant and they can be incredible business people. And I have a very I mean, you’re going to see more ownership, more governors that are former athletes. I want to see that. And it’s just not enough, Mark, for me to get in there. Is I want to get in there. I want to learn as much as possible. And I also want to, you know, leave that door open for others to follow. And I’ll bet you there’s a handful of kids that are playing right here in the summer league that 30 years from now are going to be governors and owners and hopefully there’s a start of something really good for our players. Hi uh Sean Powell about NBA.com. Uh I wonder how you guys feel about the target center going forward. It’s been there as long as it Sean you said what what is the target center? What about target center? Yeah. How do you feel about the building going forward this? Yeah. You know, Sean, when you think about it, these arenas and and I was in um several teams that went from old stadium to new stadium. I did it in Seattle from the Kingdom to Safeco and obviously um in New York from old Yankee Stadium to new Yankee Stadium. And back in the day, you can probably say it was a vanity. It was a nice nice little um you know, treat to have. Today is a necessity. If you want to compete at the level we want to compete year in and year out, a new arena is what our fans deserve. We’re in the very, very early stages. We’ve done a great deal of work over the last three years, but an arena in Minneapolis for our fans will be absolutely awesome. And we have great role models in our own market. I mean, you see the way the Vikings run their shop is really admirable. Uh, US Bank Field is beautiful. And then the the Minnesota Twins, uh, that’s actually one of my favorite stadiums to play. top two or three in all of baseball. I mean, they just did an impeccable job. So, you see what these arenas do for communities, but talk about community service. I mean, an arena is an anchor to the community. Hey guys, uh Mike Borov athletic. Um Mark, I think you mentioned about not coming in and changing things right away or doing something big right away. Um, you know, there’s something like new owner syndrome where you come in and you do something big, not arguably smart right away. Um, how much have you thought about that and taking your time in terms of leaving an imprint on an organization from the team and roster building perspective and getting involved with all the basketball ops and how much room you want to give them and how much imprint you both of you guys want to put on the team. Yeah, I mean, fortunately for us, we have been owners the last four years and we had a chance to uh you bring in Tim Conley and um you know, watch some of the moves that he’s made over the last few years that have paid off really well. I think we’re in a really good spot. As Alex said, it’s really about continuity. You know, continuity with Tim, with coach, with a some of other younger players. I think that’s really important to us and we think we’ve got a really good foundation to build upon. We don’t feel pressured to make any sudden big moves. Um and um yeah. Hey guys, Fred Gats from The Athletic. Um for for either of you, franchise valuations are way up. Revenue is obviously way up. Salary cap is rising every year. But along with that, expenses for owning an NBA team have never been higher for ownership across the league. and we’re obviously seeing a new wave of ownership across the league right now. I’m curious with that being the just the fact that owning an NBA team yeartoear has never been more expensive, how do you feel like that will affect nonplayer salary expenses moving forward with the league with you guys particular or or maybe as a trend in the league? I mean, I don’t think it has anything to do with, you know, rising expenses or anything. I think we have to run the business side like a business and we’re currently in the process of finding a leader on the business side in the same way we found Tim on on the basketball side and you know we’re going to make sure we bring in an absolute superstar into that role and then empower them to go you know do their job bring in the right execs and leaders um and and if they have to move out people that aren’t aligned with the the values and the culture we’re trying to create. So just like any other business nothing nothing nothing different. Yeah. And I I would add that for us is about really executing what we call VCP, the vision, uh you know, lay out the vision for the organization. Um provide the resources that it takes to make that vision come true. And then the hardest part is where where Mark and I spend most of our time is finding the best people in the world, paying them really well, have alignment with with us and the fan base and our players, and it’s about moving forward. And then the one thing about investing, you know, it doesn’t happen where you got to get the results and then you invest. Mark and I believe just like a starter, you got to invest the money and believe that it will follow and and that’s the key. Uh you can’t wait for it to rain before you get an umbrella, right? So, um we’ve done that already. We started that and we’re looking to do more. That’s it. All right. All right. We’re going to invite photographers to come up and take a photo of Mark and Alex. Thank you, Mike. Thank you. First

New Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore speak with reporters from the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Rodriguez and Lore recently closed on the $1.5 billion purchase of the team from Glen Taylor.