Coronavirus prevented the Timberwolves from taking their annual trek down to Mankato for their traditional lasagna dinner with owner Glen Taylor and his wife, Becky.
The team had a virtual event with the Taylors instead. Glen Taylor said the lack of lasagna was disheartening to one player in particular: Ricky Rubio.
"He said, 'That's why I came back,' " Taylor said with a laugh in a phone interview recently.
Taylor enjoys the relationships he is able to build with players and staff on the Wolves, and the pandemic has forced him to keep his communication with everyone at a virtual distance — even as the Wolves enter a pivotal time in Taylor's tenure as owner, one that could be concluding if Taylor reaches an agreement to sell the team after he confirmed in July he was fielding offers for the franchise.