Michael Grady had already put in the work. The 20-hour days in Indianapolis, grinding through radio shows and TV sportscasts and PA announcements. The move to New York to work on YES Network\u2019s Brooklyn Nets broadcasts. The years of proving himself at every level, earning Emmy Awards, and the respect of people like Ian Eagle and Ryan Ruocco.<\/p>\n
But when the Minnesota Timberwolves came calling<\/a> in 2022, it was Alex Rodriguez who made sure they knew exactly who Grady was, and why they needed him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a big reason why I\u2019m here in Minnesota,\u201d Grady revealed on this week\u2019s Awful Announcing Podcast.<\/a> \u201cHe was part of that hiring process. He put feelers out on me really early, so I\u2019m awfully appreciative to him.\u201d<\/p>\n \ufeff<\/p>\n Rodriguez<\/a> had spent nearly 15 years as a Yankee and maintained deep ties to New York\u2019s media ecosystem through his broadcasting work with ESPN and Fox. During that same stretch, Grady was at YES Network, working Nets games alongside some of the best in the business. A-Rod knew the operation. He knew the people. And he knew talent when he saw it.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got a connection with the folks over at YES Network,\u201d Grady explained. \u201cHe got the scoop.\u201d<\/p>\n When Rodriguez and business partner Marc Lore started their takeover of the Timberwolves<\/a> \u2014 a process that began in 2021 with the purchase of an initial 20 percent stake from Glen Taylor \u2014 one of their first priorities was upgrading the broadcast booth. Dave Benz had been the team\u2019s play-by-play voice for a decade, but the new ownership group wanted something different. They wanted someone who could match the energy and ambition they were bringing to a franchise that hadn\u2019t won anything meaningful in 30 years.<\/p>\n Rodriguez went to work behind the scenes. He leveraged his New York connections, made calls, and advocated for Grady. By August 2022 \u2014 just weeks after the Rudy Gobert trade signaled the franchise\u2019s new direction \u201a Grady was hired. A month later, the Timberwolves opened training camp with a new star center, a new president of basketball operations in Tim Connelly, and a new voice calling the games.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t charity. Grady had earned the opportunity through years of relentless work. He\u2019d won an Emmy as a sports anchor in Indianapolis. He\u2019d been named Indiana Sportscaster of the Year. He\u2019d hosted a popular radio show with former Colts offensive lineman Joe Staysniak. He\u2019d served as the Pacers\u2019 PA announcer for years. When YES Network hired him in 2017, it was because he\u2019d already built a reputation as one of the best young broadcasters in the Midwest.<\/p>\n By the time Grady got to YES, he was ready for the moment. He worked sidelines for Nets games, hosted pregame and postgame shows, and when COVID created opportunities for fill-in play-by-play work, he crushed it. He called a 60-point Kyrie Irving game. A 50-point Kevin Durant performance. A 28-point comeback at Madison Square Garden. The reviews were glowing. People noticed.<\/p>\n Rodriguez noticed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve definitely got to know him over years and very thankful of that relationship,\u201d Grady said. \u201cAnd very thankful, especially with this opportunity coming up, especially when you\u2019re still under contract to go to Alex and say, \u2018Hey, um, I have this life-changing opportunity, is it okay if I significantly reduce my number of games?\u2019 So, I just really appreciate his grace and understanding for that.\u201d<\/p>\n After two stellar seasons calling Wolves games, during which Minnesota made back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances and Anthony Edwards became a legitimate superstar, Grady landed dual national gigs<\/a> with Amazon Prime Video and NBC for the NBA\u2019s new media rights era<\/a> beginning this season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the kind of opportunity broadcasters spend their entire careers chasing. But it meant scaling back his Timberwolves workload significantly.<\/p>\n For a lot of owners, that\u2019s a problem. You hired someone to be the voice of your franchise, and now they\u2019re asking to do less of it? But Rodriguez understood. He\u2019d lived it himself, juggling commitments to Fox and ESPN simultaneously during his broadcasting career. At one point, he was working regular-season games and MLB Whiparound for Fox while also contributing to ESPN\u2019s Sunday Night Baseball with the KayRod Cast.<\/p>\n \u201cWe definitely communicate,\u201d Grady said. \u201cHis education and understanding of basketball has grown immensely over the time since he stepped into the governorship. He\u2019s eager to continue to learn. He\u2019s got a pretty good grip on the business side, and that\u2019s been running well. Just the relationship with players and understanding the game and talking about the game has been kind of surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodriguez\u2019s media background became an asset in that conversation. He knew what Grady was facing because he\u2019d faced it himself. So instead of being territorial about losing his play-by-play voice for chunks of the season, A-Rod helped facilitate a solution. Minnesota announced Grady would work a modified schedule of local games, with Marney Gellner<\/a> and Alan Horton<\/a> filling in when he\u2019s unavailable.<\/p>\n Rodriguez didn\u2019t make Grady\u2019s career \u2014 Grady did that through years of grinding in Indianapolis and New York. But A-Rod opened the door and had the grace to get out of the way when bigger opportunities came calling. Three years later, with the Timberwolves relevant again and Grady calling games on the biggest stages in basketball, it\u2019s hard to argue with how it all worked out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Grady had already put in the work. 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