The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx are going to continue to be owned by Glen Taylor. That news confirmed by the team Thursday morning saying that the 90-day "closing" on the purchase of the franchise by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez had expired Wednesday without a purchase agreement being fulfilled.
The 82-year old Taylor goes on to say the team is no longer for sale. He purchased the team in 1994.
“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,” said Taylor. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
Taylor adds that they could have been entitled to a limited extension, something Taylor had agreed to previously.
"However those circumstances did not occur," said the statement from Taylor.
Rodriguez and Lore released a statement late Thursday morning saying they were disappointed.
"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," said the statement. "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 a historic winning season."
ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the relationship between Taylor and Lore-Rodriguez "disintegrated" over the past two-plus years. He adds that Lore and Rodriguez did raise money necessary to purchase controlling interest, but Taylor contends that they didn’t meet contractual deadlines throughout transition.
"There are some who say the value of this team has doubled in the past three years, so I don't think Glen Taylor is disappointed at all," says WCCO's Chad Hartman who is still closely connected to the franchise where he did play-by-play for many years.
NBA insiders say the value of the franchise has increased up to $1 billion since the initial purchase in 2021 of $1.5 billion. That makes it unlikely new owners couldn't find investors willing to put money towards a franchise in a league that has taken off. The league is on the verge of a new TV and media contract that is expected to significantly increase revenue as well.
"I'll be curious about what exactly happened with this group. Was this money the NBA was looking at? How did this all fall apart at the end," Hartman asks.
Speaking to WCCO's Adam and Jordana, Hartman adds that any threat of a move for the franchise, which has been rumored, is out as long as Taylor owns the team.
In December, Taylor said he expected Lore and Rodriguez to wrap up the purchase by the end of the year, purchasing another 40% of the franchise to take over the majority stake in the Wolves and Lynx.
The Lore-Rodriguez financing had fallen through with the loss of around $300 million in financial backing three weeks ago. But reports at the time suggested another group had stepped in to provide them with the needed money to continue the purchase.
The final payment to complete the purchase was scheduled for March 27, which would have finalized a process that began in 2021. Lore and Rodriguez have made two installments, each purchasing 20% of the franchise, which was valued at $1.5 billion.
Taylor did confirm that Lore and Rodriguez will remain a minority owner with Taylor maintaining majority control.