The biggest part of the Timberwolves sale…isn’t the team

Recently, Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor announced he is looking to sell the team. If that happens, the team won’t even be the biggest part.

We’ve been here before, sure, but it seems like this time’s for real. Glen Taylor is looking to sell the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, if the trade goes through, and Taylor finally hands the reigns off to someone else, that buyer may be getting something far more valuable than the team itself.

That piece…the Minnesota Lynx.

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While the WNBA doesn’t draw in the same kind of revenue stream that the NBA draws, and the Lynx don’t draw as much money as the Timberwolves, the league has been gathering more and more attention lately; and the Lynx have shown themselves to be one of the top teams. Buying in now when it’s cheap could produce great profits in the future.

Another factor to consider in the WNBA’s growth is that the WNBA is still a relatively young league. It’s only in it’s 25th season, and last year drew a revenue of about $60 million. For comparison, in the ABA’s ninth season, the then New York Nets grossed a revenue of just over $2 million (about $11 million in today’s money). They were the league’s champions and assuming the lower-tier teams drew less, it’s reasonable to assume the ABA drew around $80 million in today’s money in 1974. While that may seem to spell doom for the WNBA, as even conservatively the ABA drew almost $20 million more, it’s important to keep in mind that last year the Brooklyn Nets took in $304 million, and the lowest drawing NBA team still brought in $224 million.

And while it’s true that the ABA’s drawings were still higher than the WNBA’s, there are a few factors to consider. First, the WNBA doesn’t have any big household names like the ABA. That’s partially the fault of the youthfulness of the league, but the media is also at blame here. Teams rarely give reports on their WNBA affiliates’ success, and the WNBA is hardly covered in the national media.

Second, the WNBA is broadcast on smaller TV networks than the ABA was. Instead of being shown on ABC or TBS, the WNBA often finds themselves on CBSSN, ESPN 2, NBA TV (which requires a hefty annual payment), or even Twitter (it’s true! Look it up!)

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The WNBA also faces some fierce competition with when the games are. Not only do a lot of games play in the afternoon, but most of the rest are played in the late evening. Neither of these times are very conducive to gathering a mainstream national audience. And, although the league plays in the summer to avoid competition with the NBA, the summer is also when many networks debut either new series or new seasons, leading to competition from domestic television.

Putting aside the relative smallness of the league, the Lynx are one of the top-performing teams in the WNBA. The Lynx have made the WNBA finals six times and have won them four of those times. The team is also on a nine-year playoff streak, and in seven of those years, they’ve made it to at least the conference finals.

The Lynx have had seven seasons where they finish first in the WNBA, one season where they finished second, and two where they finished third. In all of those seasons, they’ve made it to at least the conference finals, and in all of their first place seasons, they made it to the Finals.

If the new owners, whoever they may be, wanted to build a new base of dedicated basketball fans in Minnesota, it may actually be easier to start with the Lynx. While the Timberwolves will most likely have to wait a few years to be a big-time player in terms of league revenue, the Lynx are already there in terms of WNBA revenue, and they may just turn out to be the bigger piece of a Minnesota basketball sale.