NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves No Longer For Sale, Says Owner Glen Taylor – News18

The ownership transfer of the Minnesota Timberwolves slammed to a halt when Glen Taylor declared on Thursday he won’t take the final step of his drawn-out $1.5 billion deal to hand Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez the majority stake because they didn’t meet all of the deadlines in the sale conditions.

Lore and Rodriguez, who agreed to the purchase nearly three years ago, strongly disputed Taylor’s stance. They said he simply had cold feet about letting go.

“We went through the process, and I spent a lot of time. We’ve got a really good team, we’ve got a lot of good things going for us, I enjoy it and I’m healthy enough to do this,” Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press after the announcement. “I don’t need the money, so I think I’ll just keep running it and enjoy it. I like my coach. I like my staff. This way everybody gets to keep their jobs, and I’ll be happy.”

Lore, the e-commerce entrepreneur, and Rodriguez, the former Major League Baseball star, issued a joint statement expressing disappointment in Taylor and contending that they’ve upheld their end of the deal that was to also include the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. Lore and Rodriguez already own about a 40% stake.

“We have fulfilled our obligations, have all necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process,” the partners said. “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 an historic winning season.”

The Timberwolves (50-22) beat Detroit on Wednesday to reach the 50-win mark for just the fifth time in the 35-year history of the franchise. They’re tied for second place in the Western Conference with Oklahoma City, a half-game behind Denver.

Taylor, who turns 83 on April 20, bought the Timberwolves for $88 million in 1994 to keep them in his native Minnesota after a deal the previous owners struck to move the team to New Orleans fell through. He’s a self-made billionaire who grew up on a farm and became a printing magnate after a job at a wedding invitations shop he got to put himself through college took off.

Before Lore and Rodriguez entered the picture, Taylor had flirted with selling multiple times only to pull the club off the market. After reaching the agreement, Taylor raved about the connection he made with them and how comfortable he felt handing over the reins to them. They bought about 20% of the franchise in 2021 and another portion around 20% in 2023.

The unique and deliberate transfer was orchestrated by both parties, giving Taylor the opportunity to not only ease his way out of a role he has treasured since rescuing the struggling franchise but to serve as a mentor to the incoming owners about the business of the league and the culture of the community.

“It’s all about the fans in Minnesota. I think they deserve a winner,” Rodriguez said in that interview.

The partners exercised their option on Dec. 28 to buy another 40% and become controlling owners, and the agreement gave them a 90-day window to close the sale that expired on Wednesday. Taylor said he decided to void the contract for this third and final portion of the sale because Lore and Rodriguez missed certain deadlines related to the closing process.

“So we just said, ‘Let’s just leave it the way it is,’” Taylor said. “They’re limited partners, and that’s fine with me. They’ll make well on their investment, and we’ll just keep it the way it’s been.”

Forbes valued the Timberwolves at $2.5 billion in its latest projections for NBA clubs published at the beginning of the season.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)