Souhan: Here’s some advice for the new Timberwolves and Lynx owners

Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have made a shrewd purchase.

They soon will be officially the new owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, two teams that require almost no maintenance.

They recruited Tim Connelly, the Wolves’ renowned president of basketball operations, and he presides over an excellent coach and support staff.

They inherit the Minnesota Lynx, currently the best team in the increasingly popular WNBA, run by coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve, and led by the best player in the world, Napheesa Collier.

The value of the franchises has risen dramatically since Lore and Rodriguez first agreed to purchase them for $1.5 billion from Glen Taylor in 2021. The Lakers, for example, are being sold for $10 billion.

Now that they have their bargain, here are the five things Lo-Rod should do to make themselves popular owners:

Taylor (who also owns the Minnesota Star Tribune) had three phases as owner: savior, meddler and overseer.

He saved the Wolves from moving to New Orleans. He made dozens of bad decisions while trying to build or maintain a contender. After Lo-Rod pushed for the hiring of Connelly, Taylor backed off, provided massive amounts of money, and let Connelly work.

Lo-Rod can be viewed as saviors if they skip the meddling part and get right to being patient overseers who let Connelly and Reeve work.

Lo-Rod will want a new arena. I would prefer to see Target Center remain with upgrades, but that’s not going to happen. Lo-Rod will want more high-priced seats in the lower bowl, more amenities and luxury suites. That’s the nature of the new NBA.

Rodriguez has mentioned the possibility of building a privately financed arena. I’m dubious, but if he could pull that off, he’d become a hero to millions, and I would view him in a completely different light.

Stadium fights tend to get ugly. If Lo-Rod do wind up pushing for a publicly financed arena, I would caution them not to start making threats.

First of all, the NBA/WNBA doesn’t want to lose this market, and would not want to see the Wolves/Lynx move, so the threat might be worthless on its face.

Second, Minnesotans are among the most paranoid and provincial sports fans in the universe. Once you teach them not to trust you, your reputation will likely never recover.

When Carl Pohlad owned the Twins, he tried lying and threatening to get a new ballpark. It wasn’t until Jerry Bell and Dave St. Peter calmed the rhetoric and started working diplomatically with the legislature and media that the Twins started making progress on what would become Target Field.

Lore is a dreamer. He has promoted a few wacky ideas, like building cities in the sky.

Wacky isn’t needed here. Just write the checks and nod when Connelly and Reeve ask for something.

The Wilfs did not know how to run a franchise or operate as public figures when they purchased the Vikings. They have learned.

One of the things they learned was that public speaking isn’t for everyone.

Nobody will mind if Lo-Rod stays in the background.

I’ve been writing about Rodriguez since he first played in the Metrodome in 1994. He was a big fan of Kirby Puckett’s, and he should emulate Puckett in at least one way.

Rodriguez likes the spotlight, even though he has been burned by it many times.

He’s going to sit courtside. He’s going to interact with players. He’s going to be visible. All of that is fine and to be expected.

But he is not a basketball expert, and he is not a billionaire, and he is exactly the kind of person the typical Minnesotan expects to try to move the franchise.

Rodriguez should prove, in this new role, that he can be egoless and rational. He should adopt Puckett’s PR methodology as a player — never say anything that you might regret.

That’s the best way for Rodriguez, and Lore, to run the team and endear themselves to Minnesotans.