The prospective ownership group led by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore has taken a major step toward finally securing the purchase of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Lore and Rodriguez announced Monday that arbitrators have ruled in their favor in their ongoing battle with Glen Taylor. The deal is not formalized yet, as it still requires the approval of 23 of 30 members of the NBA Board of Governors.
In a statement, Rodriguez and Lore said they were “extremely pleased” with the outcome and are eager to “turn our attention to winning championships in Minnesota.”
Statement from Lore and Rodriguez as arbitrators rule in favor of them over Taylor to become the controlling Timberwolves owners: https://t.co/lceVytrj9i pic.twitter.com/eIgoMJcehe
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 10, 2025
Taylor had originally agreed to sell the franchise to the Rodriguez-Lore group in 2021, only to abruptly pull out of the deal and take the team off the market in March 2024. Rodriguez and Lore accused Taylor of “seller’s remorse” and took Taylor to arbitration in a bid to secure control of the organization. They have since added more investors to their group in a bid to allay concerns that they do not have the funds to complete the purchase.
When the sale dispute began, the Timberwolves were flying high, and wound up reaching the Western Conference Finals last season. Things have not gone quite as well since then. The team controversially traded star center Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks against his apparent wishes, and now sit sixth in the West with a 30-23 record entering play Monday.
Despite their current issues, the Timberwolves still have a franchise cornerstone in Anthony Edwards that anyone would love to build around. Perhaps settling the ownership situation will be a major step in getting things back on track.
