Alex Rodriguez’s pursuit of ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves has made little to no progress, and now the 30 day exclusive negotiating window has as well. Rodriguez, along with famed tech entrepreneur Marc Lore have been attempting to purchase the Timberwolves from owner Glen Taylor for months now, but negotiations have ended without a formal deal.
On April 10 of this year, Taylor announced he was going to sell the team to Lore and Rodriguez after meeting with the pair, with the prospective price being around $1.5 billion dollars. The purchasing pair had toured team facilities and met with Timberwolves personnel, truly putting them in the driver’s seat for buying the team. This proposed plan would have Rodriguez and Lore become limited partners at first, before taking full control of the team in 2023-24.
Another major aspect Taylor wanted in any transaction was that the team needed to stay in Minneapolis. The Wolves have a lease of the Target Center through 2025, so this wouldn’t be an issue. The transaction would have also included the Minnesota Lynx, a WNBA team. The Lynx are in a significantly better spot sports wise, as they won the WNBA title as recently as 2017, and own 3 previous championships this decade. It would be significantly easier for them to accomplish winning a title versus their male counterparts.
One of the most important aspects of the transaction for Taylor was the potential guarantee that he could transfer full ownership over by a particular date unknown by the media. Although this is the case now, both sides are remaining hopeful they can get a deal done, and are continuing to negotiate in good faith. Sources even told ESPN it’s possible that an extension to the window could be worked out, but one isn’t currently in place. The negotiation for the sale of the Timberwolves has been going on for the last decade. Just last year, Taylor discussed selling the team to former minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, Daniel Straus. Those talks ultimately stalled and led us to where we are now.
