Taylor’s last straw: Minnesota Timberwolves cut pay, staff amid COVID-19

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the first team to make such harsh moves following the season hiatus, but is this the last straw for team owner Glenn Taylor?

ESPN has reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves have made pay cuts to employees making $70,000 or more annually as well as laying off a number of full-time staff members.

The reports have seemed to be verified on Twitter by a number of Timberwolves employees announcing that they were fired. Those that have made public statements on Twitter include Kyle Ratke (digital content manager), Aaron Seehusen (head of Timberwolves PR), Katie Davidson (digital content associate) and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic has also confirmed that Dan Bell (communications manager) has been let go. The total number of staff cuts is unknown at this point, but the Star Tribune has reported that the number could be as high as 18.

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With the announcement, the Timberwolves become the first NBA team to make any such moves, at least on this level of severity. It was reported in early April that the Los Angeles Lakers were asking top-level staff to take a 20% pay cut, but the report also mentioned that it was voluntary.

The closest situation that is comparable to that of the Timberwolves, in the NBA world, is that of the Philadelphia 76ers and their owner, Josh Harris. In March, just 12 days after the official league hiatus, it was reported that Harris was instituting a pay cut to all employees making over $50,000. Just a day later, due in large part to a massive pushback from fans and media alike, he reversed course and announced that no cuts were coming.

However, this situation does differ slightly from that. One main reason is that the Sixers were not planning to cut any of their staff, while the Timberwolves have. It was also almost a guarantee that, if the season were to resume, the 76ers would be a part of those plans. Now that the NBA has plans in place for a return, the Timberwolves know that they are not a part of those plans.

Another sports company that has taken similar steps to the Timberwolves, and that’s the WWE. On April 15th, it was announced that a number of talent had been fired and more furloughed amidst the pandemic; a move that saw so much resistance from WWE fans that the day was dubbed “Black Wednesday”. Still, the situation does differ slightly, as the WWE has run shows through the pandemic.

The decision made by the Timberwolves organization will almost certainly prove to be a controversial one, as evidenced by the fact that the team has yet to make an official statement on any of their social media channels.

NBA owners and other executives will surely be keeping a close eye on the Timberwolves organization and the backlash they receive, as well as how this situation is handled, in order to plot their own course over the coming months. This situation will prove especially interesting to the other seven teams who are not involved in the NBA’s return to play actions, as it will almost certainly decide the course of immediate action they take.

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The biggest sticking point for fans will almost certainly be Glenn Taylor’s, the Minnesota Timberwolves owner, ability to supplement the team’s income with his own net worth. In November of last year, it was reported that Taylor was the 12th richest owner in the NBA, valued at $3 billion.

While that may not sound like too controversial an issue, Taylor has had a history of upsetting Timberwolves fans, especially with financial decisions. Fan frustration has been built up through a history of poor decisions, such as keeping Jimmy Butler longer than he wanted to be here, not paying the likes of Kevin Love, Al Jefferson and Kevin Garnett.

That history is just one aspect of the decision, and the eventual fan reaction, however, it’s an important one. This move to cut a number of staff members and cut the pay of more could be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back in terms of Timberwolves fans’ patience with their owner. There have already been a number of fans calling for Taylor to sell the team, and this might just sway more over to their side.

Unlike the 76ers situation, the Timberwolves have received little backlash from fans on social media for the decision thus far. Whether that’s because Minnesota occupies a smaller amount of the national media landscape than Philadelphia does, or because fans recognize that the situation is different, and may require different solutions is up for debate. What’s certain though is that, for the first time in a long time, the NBA’s eyes are on Minnesota, and it may be Taylor’s last straw.