Alex Rodriguez and his business partner, Marc Lore, have seemingly been working toward becoming the majority owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx for the last two and a half years.
The two and their ownership group moved to purchase the teams back in 2021. They announced their ownership bid back in July of 2021 with Rodriguez saying, “I never dreamed this would be possible.”
Here we are on Thursday and, as things turned out, it never came to fruition. Despite all the inroads Rodriguez and Lore made with current team owner Glen Taylor, the Timberwolves seem to have been taking off the market. Taylor announced on Thursday that the bid for the sale was officially over.
Everything fell through after things got so close to the finish line. You’re probably asking how on Earth we got here. Don’t worry — we’ve got you covered.
UPDATE: Things got worse?
Somehow, they did! Glen Taylor was asked about his reasoning for pulling the Wolves off the market. He openly admitted that it’s because the Wolves are worth more now than when he agreed to sell the team.
He’s admitting to pulling out of the deal simply because he sold low on the franchise. That’s…not a great look.
Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore released a statement in response:
We are disappointed with Glen Taylor’s public statement today. We have fulfilled our obligations, have necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process. Glen Taylor’s statement is an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse that is short sighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during a historic winning season.
Wait, so A-Rod isn't going to be the Timberwolves and Lynx owner anymore?
Nope. A-Rod and Lore are both out of the picture as owners. Glen Taylor will retain full ownership of the team moving forward, according to the team statement released. Lore and Rodriguez will continue to be minority owners.
“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” Taylor said in the statement. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
How on Earth did this happen? I thought it was done already.
The ownership transfer was agreed to in principle, but the process wasn’t completed yet. Rodriguez and Lore began the process back in 2021. Again, Rodriguez announced it via Twitter.
The initial agreement between the sides was that Rodriguez and Lore would pay Taylor $1.5 billion for the team, but it would be paid in installments. Think of it as them purchasing the team using AfterPay.
Rodriguez and Lore made an initial payment upon the agreement, paid another $290 million to bring their ownership stake to 40 percent last season and were supposed to pay another installment this season.
This is where things fell apart.
What happened with the last payment?
According to the team statement, Rodriguez and Lore failed to pay their final installment within the timeframe allowed by the initial agreement. The statement says there was an “expiration of the option of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to acquire controlling interest in the Timberwolves and Lynx.”
The statement also said there could’ve been a “limited extension” if Rodgriguez and Lore met “certain circumstances,” but they apparently didn’t. So, with that, the deal fell through.
Did ... Lore and Rodriguez just not have the money?
Honestly, we don’t know. That’s what Taylor’s statement makes it seem like. But ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Rodriguez and Lore did have the money.
However, their relationship with Taylor reportedly deteriorated over the last two years. That, coupled with contractual deadlines missed, seemed to ruin things here.
There had been extensions filed on the final payment previously. It’s unclear whether Rodriguez and Lore tried to file for another here.
Wow. This is messy.
Extremely messy. It gets even messier when you realize that Lore and Rodriguez have essentially acted as the Timberwolves and Lynx’s principal owners since the sale process was announced.
The two have been making organizational decisions like hiring the Timberwolves’ GM, Tim Connelly. Here’s Wojnarowski with more from December:
“As the ownership transfer is completed, the Timberwolves are engaged in their best season in history — 22-7 and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Under Lore and Rodriguez’s growing influence, the Timberwolves hired away Denver Nuggets GM Tim Connelly as president, and his trades for Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley have played a significant part in the franchise’s rise to an elite level.“
Now, Taylor takes the reigns again and will steer the organization in whatever direction he sees fit. Considering the team’s history, that’s probably not something the Timberwolves should feel good about.
So what happens next?
It’s hard not to see this thing going to court moving forward. Hundreds of millions of dollars have changed hands at this point. Rodriguez and Lore have been operating as the team’s owners. Plus, the two of them reportedly have the money to complete the purchase.
The only update we have so far is that Taylor will retain his ownership in the team and that it’s no longer for sale. We’ll see what comes next.
