Timberwolves and Lynx CEO Ethan Casson, who has been on the job for a little over a year, is playing a significant role in the rebranding of both franchises.
I'll get into some of the broader efforts in a Q&A with Casson that will run in Sunday's newspaper (and online), but for now let's drill down on a couple interesting things he had to say about one of the efforts that is garnering a lot of attention from fans: the release of the Wolves' new Nike uniforms.
Nike and the Wolves released two of the four new designs — the darker "Icon" version and the lighter "Association" version — last week, with blue and white serving as the primary colors in each.
That satisfied some clothes fanatics (and disappointed others), but it led inevitably to curiosity about what the final two designs — to be revealed at a later date — will look like.
There is a leaked version of a Wolves jersey that features a whole lot of bright green, so I asked Casson about it.
Casson (pictured above with Wolves owner Glen Taylor, who also owns the Star Tribune) called the leaks "unfortunate" but said it's been "fun to watch all the different versions everyone has." That said, while he wouldn't speak directly to the next new look he did offer this:
"I will say that from what you've seen in the Association and Icon — the navy and the white — we're going to take a hard turn into something much more unique. It will kind of complete the story. … It will be much more bold and a lot more playful."
The third uniform revealed will be called the "Statement" edition and it will be out in September. The fourth will come later and will be called the "City" edition.
Home teams will decide which of the uniforms they want to wear on a given night — with the flexibility to choose dark or light — and the road team will respond accordingly. Now that the NBA schedule is out, Casson said, those decisions can start to take shape.
"It will be fascinating to watch how each team decides to interpret that flexibility," he said. "With the schedule just coming out, we'll sit down as a marketing staff and determine if there are some themes we can come up with — and what the basketball side wants to do."
Casson said the Icon, Association and Statement uniforms will be used in a primary rotation, while the City uniforms will be used "only a handful of times."
