Timberwolves ownership fiasco might provide hope for Karl-Anthony Towns' future

Despite the Minnesota Timberwolves having their best regular season in two decades, the franchise seemed destined to trade Karl Anthony Towns this offseason with new ownership looking to cut payroll. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, current owner Glen Taylor thought that the financial payroll documents submitted by incoming owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez would "jeopardize the franchise's ability to compete for a championship."

With a very expensive core of Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves are currently fighting every day for the first seed in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves face a player payroll of $198 million for next season. This bill puts Minnesota over the luxury tax, forcing them to pay over $25 million instead of receiving money from the luxury tax pool.

While the franchise could have made other moves, it was widely-expected that Minnesota would move on from Karl-Anthony Towns to get under the luxury tax. This move was expected to come once Rodriguez and Lore become majority owners this summer. The business deal fell through after Taylor claimed that the incoming group missed a payment to become full-time owners of the club.

With Taylor being the owner for the foreseeable future, does this mean that the Karl-Anthony Towns rumors can be put to bed this offseason?

Is Karl-Anthony Towns set to stay in Minnesota despite their very expensive payroll?

With Taylor still paying the bills in Minnesota, it is becoming increasingly likely that the Timberwolves will not look to shop Towns this offseason to shed payroll. Since the franchise is still in a small market, they will likely end up shopping Naz Reid to create less of a taxing bill in the front court.

Since Taylor already tried to sell the team once, he will likely try to find another owner who can buy the Timberwolves and WNBA's Lynx eventually.

While fans might have to pay a lot more for tickets, concessions, and merchandise, the franchise seems set on keeping their talent if they make a deep playoff run this season with no Rodriguez or Lore in power.