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Bill Duffy of WME Basketball is involved with representing both players (McDaniels is also represented by Nima Namakian of Innovate Sports), so getting this deal done certainly can’t hurt things when it is time to open up extension talks for Edwards next summer. The two sides negotiated the deal for weeks, sources said. New Timberwolves owners Marc and Elisa Stad, co-owner Alex Rodriguez and president of basketball operations Tim Connelly all emphasized to McDaniels just how much they wanted him in Minnesota. They believe McDaniels can make another leap in his development, and he has looked sharp so far in the preseason.
Connelly lamented that his contract situation has become a public discussion point but reiterated that he has never engaged with other teams who have come calling to check on his availability. This summer, limited partners Marc and Elisa Stad agreed to purchase some of Marc Lore’s shares in the franchise, elevating them to the majority owners of the Wolves and WNBA’s Lynx. The NBA still has to approve the transaction, which will be the third configuration of controlling ownership — starting with Glen and Becky Taylor before moving to Lore and Alex Rodriguez last year and now the Stads and Rodriguez — Connelly has had in his five years in Minnesota.
The common ground with Stad and his wife, Elisa, who recently agreed to purchase controlling ownership of the Timberwolves and Lynx, is more unexpected. The Stads are not Hollywood royalty. Lowe has been in the spotlight since he was 19, when he burst onto the scene in “The Outsiders.” Marc Stad has spent his life building an investment empire while intentionally avoiding the attention that can come with it. All the success the Stads have had in business has taken them from modest beginnings with immigrant parents to mansions in Santa Barbara, walks on the beach with Lowe and now, after they agreed to team up with Alex Rodriguez to run the Wolves and Lynx, admission to one of the most exclusive clubs in America. “Marc and I bonded over sports and health and fitness,” Lowe said. “He has very smart insight into where the world is heading, both in terms of business and politics. He has the ability to see around corners.”
Jon Krawczynski: 'Alex Rodriguez is going to be even more I think of the public front man because of Marc Stad's preference to stay behind the scenes. But Stad and A-Rod are working hand-in-hand and you will see Alex Rodriguez a ton, I think, next season. You will see Marc Stad some, but this really does just work out very smoothly, I think, as far as a change of ownership goes. Marc Lore has to devote all of his time, all of his financial resources to the company Wonder that he's trying to take public, I think as soon as early next year, and he cashes out at an incredible investment level going from 1.5 billion to 4.5 billion valuation is is unbelievable. He is still going to be involved though, he is a still a limited partner with this group, he's not leaving entirely, he's just taking a step back.'
Jim Souhan: "So is Marc Lore still involved?" Jon Krawczynski: "He is still involved though, he is still a limited partner with this group he's not leaving entirely, he's just taking a step back and so we'll see sort of like how much more comes to light on who he and Alisa are and and and how they move and how they operate. But, you know, Marc Stad was the number three investor with Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez in this ownership group. He's been very quiet and under the radar for his tenure with the Wolves and really for the way that he conducts business in general. If you look online and try to find any really public information about Marc Stad, there's not a ton of it out there and that's all by design. He's a very private person, he wants to stay behind the scenes, but talking to people with the Timberwolves over the last couple of years, Marc Stad has been involved in what has been going on in decisions that are made and kind of meeting and talking with Tim Connelly, discussing with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lore the kind of the visions for arena, for the business side of the operation, for the basketball side of the operation."
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Jon Krawczynski: They had to get into a bidding war, a recruiting battle with the Los Angeles Lakers for Jonathan Kuminga's services. The Lakers were offering a possible starting spot, the Wolves were offering a possible starting spot, the Lakers were offering more than $12 million per season, the Wolves could only get to six, and yet with a huge recruiting push from Marc Stad, Marc Lore, and Alex Rodriguez, and Tim Connelly, and Anthony Edwards, and a bunch of Timberwolves teammates, they were the ones that outmaneuvered the Lakers in free agency for a player both teams coveted.
Michael Scotto: Jonathan Kuminga chose the Timberwolves because he felt it was the best basketball fit and gives him a chance to start at power forward for a contender. Wolves stars Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, executive Tim Connelly, and owner Alex Rodriguez all actively recruited Kuminga.
"Marc Stad and his wife Elise are now the controlling owners of the Timberwolves. The Stad family was invested as minority owners the last two-plus years along with Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. As far as it's been told to me, Marc and Alex have really grown to love the minority partnership with Marc Stad."
Alex Rodriguez: One of the great joys I’ve had in my career is spending the last few years helping build the Timberwolves and Lynx with my friend and partner Marc Lore. I’m very excited to announce that this incredible journey reaches a new level today. Marc and Elisa Stad, who have been our partners and friends since we bought the teams, will be increasing their investment and joining me as Co-Chairman. I will also be increasing my investment and spending even more time with the teams as Co-Chairman, Governor of the Lynx, and alternate Governor of the Timberwolves, pending league approval. While Marc Lore will be reducing his role and ownership to focus on his business, he remains an investor and a key part of our partnership. I could not be more energized about this evolution and what we’re all going to do together for the Twin Cities.
Jon Krawczynski: What I’m told on what is always the biggest question in a change of ownership power: Stad is fully on board with Lore and Rodriguez’s position that they will not move the Wolves and Lynx and is all in on building a new arena in Minnesota.
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American businessman Marc Stad has completed a deal to become the controlling owner and largest shareholder of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx by buying the majority of co-owner Marc Lore's stake at a $4.5 billion valuation, sources told ESPN. Lore will retain a minority investment in the teams, while co-owner Alex Rodriguez has decided to increase his equity percentages, sources said. It's not yet known how much of both teams each would own after the sale is completed. Lore decided to take a step back from his co-owner and co-chairman role in order to focus on the IPO push for his food tech company, the Wonder Group, over the next calendar year, believing changing ownership seats with Stad gave the Timberwolves the best opportunity for continued success.
Stad, the founder and managing partner of Dragoneer Investment Group, had been a significant minority investor in the Timberwolves and Lynx under the ownership group of Lore and Alex Rodriguez. Sources said the transfer of ownership between the Stad family and Lore developed after months of conversations and allowed Stad, Rodriguez and Lore to continue working together and maintain the current leadership structures of the Timberwolves and the Lynx. That includes Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, general manager Matt Lloyd and coach Chris Finch and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who also serves as the Lynx's president of basketball operations.
Stad's wife, Elisa Stad, will serve as the Timberwolves governor as Marc Stad continues as managing partner for Dragoneer. Rodriguez will continue to serve as alternate governor for the Timberwolves and governor of the Lynx under the new arrangement. Elisa Stad co-founded University of California, San Francisco's Stad Center for Pediatric Pain, Palliative & Integrative Medicine after a two-decade career building global consumer brands.
Marc Stad founded Dragoneer in 2012 and built the firm into one of the largest growth investment companies, which now manages over $35 billion in capital, according to Forbes. He also joined the original ownership group in the NHL's Seattle Kraken in 2018 as a minority shareholder, holding close relationships with owner Samantha Holloway and her father, the late David Bonderman. Lore and Rodriguez bought into the Timberwolves in 2021 at a $1.5 billion valuation, with an agreement to eventually purchase the team in full from previous owner Glen Taylor, who later tried to stop the transfer of the team. Lore and Rodriguez officially took full control in June 2025, and re-upped their commitment to keeping the franchise in Minnesota. However, the Target Center is the second-oldest building in the NBA (behind only Madison Square Garden), and ownership has been working with the city of Minneapolis on plans for a new arena.