In a feature published over at The Vertical yesterday, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, commonly known as Woj, responds to a few questions that were posed to him by way of social media. Embedded below is the first question Wojnarowski answers in the video, titled, The Woj Report.

@TheVertical will Sam Mitchell be back as coach of the Wolves? #thevertical — Tim Nehring (@timmyknee) March 16, 2016

Here’s the video.

Here’s what Woj had to say:

Tim, the longer the Steve Kaplan-Jason Levien group goes without completing its deal to purchase 30 percent of the team from owner Glen Taylor, the better chance Mitchell has to survive another year.

Kaplan and Levien need to come up with the money to close the deal. And they need to come to an agreement with how much say Kaplan, and especially Levien, will have over basketball operations in Minnesota.

For now, Kevin Garnett’s endorsement of Sam Mitchell goes a long way with Glen Taylor. Several elite coaches see the Wolves as maybe the most intriguing-coaching job that could become available this offseason. And that’s because of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, the great young talent with the Wolves, but right now, the minority ownership snag is keeping everything in limbo.

There isn’t anything new here, really. In fact, Woj essentially leaves out all of the information ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst reported last Sunday, which Cold Omaha shed some light on just last week.

In essence, NBA rules do not allow Kaplan to purchase any percentage of the Wolves until he sells his stake in the Memphis Grizzlies. Kaplan may not even have enough cash to buy the Wolves until that happens. Moreover, what has put the deal between he and Taylor in limbo — and in jeopardy — is that Kaplan is having difficulty selling with his stake in the Grizzlies in the wake of turmoil within the Memphis ownership group.

Last week, the Memphis Business Journal estimated just how much of the Grizzlies Kaplan owns while reiterating what he might do to go about selling his stake, as Lowe and Windhorst had initially reported.

It’s difficult to be certain exactly what percentage of the team Kaplan owns as the specifics of the ownership deal — which included several locals and a few celebrities— were never officially released.

However, when the original deal went down, the Memphis Flyer published a detail of the ownership splits. Certainly, there could have been some changes since then, but if we take the percentages laid out in that post as true, we get a sense of how the ownership negotiations may have broken down.

If Kaplan owns 14.22 percent of the team as reported, and paid about $25 million in 2012, he could want as much as $110 million for his share now. At least, that’s what a 14 percent stake in the Grizzlies is supposedly worth now.

Pera’s stake is about 25 percent, making him the owner of the largest share. He paid an estimated $45 million in 2012. With those numbers, it isn’t hard to see how he and Kaplan might come to an impasse.

Pera — or anyone, really — wouldn’t want to part with that much money for another slice of a team they already control. Meanwhile, Kaplan wants (perhaps needs) the cash to buy into a new team. Plus, the Timberwolves will be sold along with the same increased value the rest of the NBA enjoys. Currently, Forbes values the Timberwolves at $720 million.

The percentages and the contracts are likely far more complex that I’ve laid out here, but it does help underscore the disconnect between the perceived value of an NBA team versus the actual revenue the business makes.

Another interesting portion of the story that has emerged is an odd clause in the team’s ownership contract, which was reported by ESPN. Kaplan could trigger a so-called “buy-sell” clause that could force a sale, in theory. Kaplan could make a bid for controlling interest in the team at a price of Pera’s choice. If this clause is triggered, Pera would have two choices. Either he could buy out the minority owner at that named price, or sell his share based on the same valuation.

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It is said that Taylor has spoken with other potential buyers, which is perfectly within his rights, but nobody has named names. If the situation in Memphis becomes more complicated and Taylor is interested in selling a minority stake in the Wolves before the NBA’s enormous TV contract kicks in, maybe he should think about going down that road.

With each passing day it seems more and more likely that Mitchell — and general manager Milt Newton — will return for at least one more season. If that’s the case perhaps, perhaps Garnett, who favorably endorsed Mitchell in February, will forgo retirement and come back for the 2016-17 season, which would put another $8 million in his pocket. For now, though, as Woj says, everything remains in limbo.

Photo credit: Minnesota Timberwolves