The announcement Glen Taylor is considering selling the Wolves and Lynx was felt in Bradenton, Fla, the site of the IMG Academy, where the Lynx are preparing for Sunday's 2020 opener against Connecticut.
"Glen Taylor is everything to this organization,'' Lynx center Sylvia Fowles said.
But wondering about a potential sale and what new ownership would bring is not something Fowles or general manager/coach Cheryl Reeve have time for with the 2020 opener days away. "It's just beyond my abilities to think about anything other than at we're doing down here in Bradenton,'' Reeve said. "I told Glen I was happy for him, if this was what he thought was best for himself and the limited partners. It's well beyond my abilities to go any further than that. We control what we can control, and Glen knows we love having him a part of this.''
Taylor had been the Wolves owner for a few years when the Lynx were brought into the WNBA. Since then the resources he has given the team is as good as any team in the league.
Reeve was an assistant with the Detroit Shock when that franchise was moved down to Tulsa in 2009, so she knows how quickly a situation can change. She has been with the Lynx since 2010.
"He understands the relationship part of being really good,'' Reeve said of Taylor. "And so we've had that. I don't just mean with Roger [Griffith, the Lynx's executive vice president for years] or just myself with him. It's how much he cares about the players, both the Wolves and the Lynx. He just really embraces that. He's courtside at the games, along with [his wife] Becky. Let's not forget Becky, she has been such a big part of this as well. I think Glen Taylor is one of the best listeners I've ever had in my life, in terms of someone I would report to. He listens really well and he's a good problem-solver. Which is, I guess, why he's the billionaire that he is.''
Reeve said she hoped any new ownership would value the Lynx the way Taylor has. That said, she knows how quickly things can change in the league.
"In 2009 in Detroit I was sitting in an airport, going on vacation, and learned that our team [the Shock] would be no longer,'' she said. "Because somebody in the league office prematurely posted on the website that, when you went to the Detroit Shock, it took you to the Tulsa Shock. That's how I found out we didn't have jobs in Detroit. Oftentimes we're the last to know in these sorts of situations.''
But Reeve said this situation feels different. She has been kept informed.
"Glen cares about all the entities that are under the Timberwolves umbrella,'' Reeve said. "And so I just continue to have faith in what Glen wants. I understand it's a business deal and things could change. But, at this point, I think Glen's involvement – and, really anybody that takes on the franchise – is going to understand what they have in the Lynx as well as the Wolves. And so I'm confident.''
