Ethan Casson entered his seventh year with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 and was recently promoted to chief operating officer. The Cassons, Ethan and Lisa, attended a wedding in Minnesota, where guests included Glen Taylor and Becky Taylor.
“I worked for the Timberwolves and Lynx for 11 years before being hired in corporate sales for the 49ers,” Casson said. “Glenn spoke to me at her wedding and said he was looking for a new CEO for the Timberwolves and Lynx, and he asked if I would be interested.”
So let's be clear, Mr. Casson:
You worked for the 49ers, one of the greatest franchises in NFL history. Simply send a notification to season ticket holders and the money will arrive automatically. There, the owners are waiting to receive their annual check for hundreds of millions of dollars from the league's office. So you decided to join the Timberwolves, a franchise that's been in a bit of a slump after missing the playoffs for more than a dozen years in a row and attendance has been stagnant?
“Lisa is from the Twin Cities,” he said. “Minnesota girls always want to go home.”
This sad time for the Timberwolves was further accentuated by the passing of basketball president and coach Flip Sanders just before the start of the 2015-16 season. Their record that season was 29 wins and 53 losses, and they ranked 29th out of 30 teams in official home attendance.
In other words, it was a normal season for the Woofies.
Tom Thibodeau was hired as president of basketball operations and coach on April 20, 2016. Casson accepted Taylor's offer and became CEO of the business on August 1st.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine…a young core, a potential big three, right? The record was 31 wins and 51 losses, and the actual number of spectators per game decreased to 14,809.
Thisbus was not a man who waited. On June 22, 2017, he added LaVine and acquired Jimmy Butler, among other assets. Attendance jumped to 17,056, ranking 21st in the league.
“We had what we call the 'first play-in' game,” Casson said. “On the final day of the season, the Timberwolves and Denver battle for the final playoff spot. Young KAT vs. Young [Nikola] Jokic. Our arena was wild about the match. ”
April 11, 2018: Wolves 112, Denver 106 in overtime. They are back in the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons.
What could go wrong? Well, Butler was unhappy with the Timberwolves' ability to pay him in the future, showed up to opening practice and badmouthed various teammates, and then later appeared on ESPN's Rachel. He could go on a pre-scheduled interview with Nichols and say bad things about the franchise.
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October 10, 2018. A short honeymoon with Jimmy. He was traded to the 76ers a month later.
“One thing that sticks out to me is that last spring, when we came back to Target Center for the series against Houston, the fans were chanting 'Wolves in six,'” Casson said. Ta. “Even though we were 4-1 in the series against the No. 1 seed, we had a great offseason off the court and business-wise.
“The following fall, I’ll tell you how it happened again, but Jimmy was traded and we were right back in rebuilding mode.”
More than “kind of.” Thibodeau was fired in January 2019, and the Timberwolves finished the season with a 36-46 record, ranking 28th in the NBA in average official attendance of 15,305.
Casson helped find Gersson Rosas to run the basketball operation. “He caught us ants. [Anthony Edwards]”Gerson gave us Naz Reid, we got Jaden McDaniels. From a basketball standpoint, Gerson was the right choice,” Casson said Tuesday.
Rosas fired Ryan Saunders on February 22, 2021, and hired Toronto assistant Chris Finch as coach. Seven months later, Rosas was fired due to various workplace issues.
It took until May 23, 2022, at the request of future owners Marc Rohr and Alex Rodriguez, and approval from still-owner Taylor, to hire Tim Connelly from the Denver Nuggets.
Then there was the Rudy Gobert trade and a season in which Towns missed 57 games, but there was still a clear positive change in the atmosphere in the crowd at Target Center during the second half of the 2022-23 season.
“Edwards was a huge influence and I believe in his style of play,” Casson said. “Obviously, if you're successful on the court, you're going to be even more successful off the court.
“We have to be ready to leverage that: our fans, our pricing, our corporate sponsorships, everything about how we are perceived in the market, the infrastructure to make it a great experience. needs to be maintained.
“Population-based, this is the most competitive sports market in the country. We have the Wild, the preeminent hockey franchise, the Twins next door, the Vikings less than a mile away. There's a soccer team in the stadium, and there's also a big stadium.'' Ten universities. ”
Casson was on the fifth floor of the office and practice court that the Timberwolves and Lynx built across the skyway in 2015. There was a huge office space downstairs, where employees were preparing for the NBA playoff series against Phoenix, which begins Saturday. Lynx season will start soon.
The Timberwolves announced their 41st consecutive sellout this season, and while they apparently used cheap tickets with sponsors at times, they averaged 18,024, ranking 18th in the NBA.
The Timberwolves are up significantly in all revenue numbers, joining the Texas Rangers, Vegas Golden Knights, Inter Miami and Kansas City Chiefs as Sports Business Journal's NBA nominees for Franchise of the Year. It has also become.
“I've been calling this approach to our business '50-win ready,' and we were in that position when that season arrived,” Casson said. “We have seen significant increases in revenue, television ratings, season ticket renewals and corporate sponsorships.”
The complications began just 20 days ago when Taylor, who also owns the Star Tribune, issued a statement saying the team was taken off the market because Rolex and Rodriguez had missed their deadlines. The dispute appears to be headed for arbitration.
“Can I just say 'sad' to the situation and leave it alone?” Kason said.
You're still a Wolves, Ethan. If it weren't for the bumps, we wouldn't recognize you.
