Glen Taylor: Timberwolves are no longer for sale

Glen Taylor: Timberwolves are no longer for sale

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ majority stake, owned by 82-year-old Glen Taylor, is now no longer for sale, Taylor confirmed Thursday via press release.

“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 via release. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”

Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who already own 40 percent of the organization, had the first increment of purchasing the team’s $1.5 billion sale approved in late December. Though according to the purchase agreement, the closing of the deal was required within a 90-day span, which was on Wednesday.

According to the press release, Rodriguez and Lore could have had a limited extension under “certain circumstances” that were not met. According to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the relationship between Taylor and the two buyers “disintegrated” over the last two-plus years, which could have played in part to why the specific deadlines were not met despite the requisite money being raised.

The relationship between Taylor and his successors – Lore and Rodriguez – disintegrated over the past two-plus years, sources tell ESPN. Lore/Rodriguez did raise money necessary to purchase controlling interest, but Taylor contends that they didn’t meet contractual deadlines…

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 28, 2024

There are no current reports to suggest that Lore and Rodriguez will relinquish the 40 percent of their share, which was purchased in two 20 percent increments in 2021 and 2023.

“We are disappointed with Glen Taylor’s public statement today,” Lore and Rodriguez said in the statement. “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.

“Glen Taylor’s statement is an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse that is shortsighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during a historic winning season.”

Optically, this sale saga does not look particularly good for anyone involved. Who knows if–or when–Taylor will elect to sell the majority stake; that’s one factor that works to his advantage, since there’s been three franchises–the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Charlotte Hornets–recently sold for double Minnesota’s $1.5 billion stake over the last three years.

Personally, I could be 42, 82 or 182-years-old, I’d want to own a professional sports franchise that includes one Anthony Edwards. I know, it’s a scorching hot take, but it’s true! I also understand that business is business, so perhaps the best business decision could be to wait another year or two for inflation to spike the prices anymore (especially if more sales are complete).

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