'I've heard a change will be coming': Wolves next to switch up TV plans?

Is the Timberwolves' TV situation about to change?

Jan 14, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) takes part in an interview after defeating the Los Angeles Clippers at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Minnesota Timberwolves games will be televised locally on Bally Sports North this season, but their future with the regional sports network is unclear as Diamond Sports Group remains embattled in bankruptcy court.

After the Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that they are moving forward with Bally Sports North and adopting an independent streaming plan that will see their games produced and distributed through MLV.TV (also available on cable, streaming and satellite providers), Timberwolves insider Dane Moore suggested that Minnesota's NBA franchise could follow suit.

"I’ve heard a change will be coming in how Wolves games are distributed as well," Moore wrote in a post on X. "I don’t know all the details, but would assume we get more information on that here soon."

Local teams leasing broadcast rights to Diamond Sports Group through the Bally Sports Regional Network has been a hit-or-miss disaster over recent years as the company has found itself in contract stalements with numerous providers. This past summer, two months of Twins games weren't available to Comcast customers due to an inability to agree to a deal that both sides deemed fair.

Diamond Sports Group is attempting to revive itself from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a big hearing is coming in mid-November that could set the table for Diamond to detach from Sinclair Broadcasting and move forward as its own entity. According to Awful Announcing, Diamond would then look to find a new sponsor for its regional network (believed to be FanDuel).

Awful Announcing reports that Diamond owes the 12 NBA teams it covers, including the Timberwolves, a total of $253 million for 2024-25 rights fees. It's possible that Diamond's situation doesn't improve, and if that's the case the court could rule that Diamond owes the NBA between $163.7 million and $187.9 million rather than $253 million, which of course would lead to less revenue for the Timberwolves.

We'll see how it all plays out. For now, the next Wolves game on TV will be Sunday, Oct. 13 when they face Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks in a preseason game. That'll be televised on ESPN at 5 p.m. CT.

Preseason games Oct. 16-17 against the Bulls and Nuggets, respectively, will be televised on Bally Sports North. The regular-season opener Oct. 22 against the Lakers will be a national broadcast on TNT