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’s 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.
But when the Minnesota Timberwolves came calling in 2022, it was Alex Rodriguez who made sure they knew exactly who Grady was, and why they needed him.
“He’s a big reason why I’m here in Minnesota,” Grady revealed on this week’s Awful Announcing Podcast. “He was part of that hiring process. He put feelers out on me really early, so I’m awfully appreciative to him.”
Rodriguez had spent nearly 15 years as a Yankee and maintained deep ties to New York’s 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.
“He’s got a connection with the folks over at YES Network,” Grady explained. “He got the scoop.”
When Rodriguez and business partner Marc Lore started their takeover of the Timberwolves — a process that began in 2021 with the purchase of an initial 20 percent stake from Glen Taylor — one of their first priorities was upgrading the broadcast booth. Dave Benz had been the team’s 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’t won anything meaningful in 30 years.
Rodriguez went to work behind the scenes. He leveraged his New York connections, made calls, and advocated for Grady. By August 2022 — just weeks after the Rudy Gobert trade signaled the franchise’s new direction ‚ 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.
It wasn’t charity. Grady had earned the opportunity through years of relentless work. He’d won an Emmy as a sports anchor in Indianapolis. He’d been named Indiana Sportscaster of the Year. He’d hosted a popular radio show with former Colts offensive lineman Joe Staysniak. He’d served as the Pacers’ PA announcer for years. When YES Network hired him in 2017, it was because he’d already built a reputation as one of the best young broadcasters in the Midwest.
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.
Rodriguez noticed.
“I’ve definitely got to know him over years and very thankful of that relationship,” Grady said. “And very thankful, especially with this opportunity coming up, especially when you’re still under contract to go to Alex and say, ‘Hey, um, I have this life-changing opportunity, is it okay if I significantly reduce my number of games?’ So, I just really appreciate his grace and understanding for that.”
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 with Amazon Prime Video and NBC for the NBA’s new media rights era beginning this season.
It’s the kind of opportunity broadcasters spend their entire careers chasing. But it meant scaling back his Timberwolves workload significantly.
For a lot of owners, that’s a problem. You hired someone to be the voice of your franchise, and now they’re asking to do less of it? But Rodriguez understood. He’d 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’s Sunday Night Baseball with the KayRod Cast.
“We definitely communicate,” Grady said. “His education and understanding of basketball has grown immensely over the time since he stepped into the governorship. He’s eager to continue to learn. He’s got a pretty good grip on the business side, and that’s been running well. Just the relationship with players and understanding the game and talking about the game has been kind of surreal.”
Rodriguez’s media background became an asset in that conversation. He knew what Grady was facing because he’d 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 and Alan Horton filling in when he’s unavailable.
Rodriguez didn’t make Grady’s career — 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’s hard to argue with how it all worked out.