High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Minnesota Timberwolves relocation to New Orleans was a failed 1994 effort to relocate the National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise Minnesota Timberwolves to New Orleans, Louisiana. After a prolonged courtship, the Top Rank group secured a contract to purchase the Timberwolves for $152.5 million from owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, only to have the league reject the purchase in June 1994. Following the rejection by the league, Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor purchased the franchise and kept the team in Minneapolis. After failing to attract the Vancouver Grizzlies in 2001, New Orleans would return to the NBA following the relocation of the Charlotte Hornets for the 2002–03 season.