According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski , MLB legend Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are finalizing an agreement to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves from Glen Taylor, who bought a majority stake of the NBA team in 1994.
Rodriguez was unsuccessful in his last attempt to become the owner of the New York Mets losing out to Steven Cohen.
79-year-old Minnesota native Glen Taylor, who Forbes estimates has a $2.9 billion net worth after more than four decades leading the Taylor Corporation, told Jon Krawczynski and Charania of The Athletic he’d only entertain offers from those wanting to keep the Wolves in the state.
“People have inquired who are interested and very interested and have the money, but they want to move a team,” Taylor said. “They are not a candidate. We’ve made that very clear. In those terms, nothing has changed. We got a good team here. We think we have a good future and we want to do anything we can to keep it that way.”
A Minneapolis city spokesperson confirmed any party who breaks the lease to use the Target Center as the Timberwolves’ home arena would owe $50 million, per Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. That agreement runs through the 2034-35 NBA season.
The TimberWolves were founded in 1989 by the ownership tandem of Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson. It marked the return of the NBA to Minnesota after the state lost the Lakers to Los Angeles in 1960.
The franchise has advanced beyond the opening round of the playoffs just once—a trip to the 2004 Western Conference Finals, where it lost to the Lakers in six games.
