Timberwolves ownership battle takes shocking turn with NBA
09/13/2024 12:33 PM
The gradual ownership change for the Minnesota Timberwolves was supposed to be finalized during the 2023-24 NBA season. Long-time owner Glen Taylor was going to be selling his majority stake in the team to the ownership group led by businessman Marc Lore and former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez, but the sale quickly halted in March with the current owner stating that the team was “no longer for sale,” despite language in the signed contracts stating the opposite.
There have been ongoing legal battles between the Lore-Rodriguez group and Taylor as a result. Whereas Taylor refused to sell his chunk of equity on claims that the new ownership group failed to accumulate the funds needed to purchase his final percentage of the team by the date listed in their documents, Rodriguez and Lore made it very clear that they submitted the proper paperwork in order to complete the sale of the Timberwolves.
With matter not being resolved and the 2024-25 NBA season right around the corner, Taylor is now involving the NBA in the process. Commissioner Adam Silver has made it clear that the league wasn’t going to get involved, as mediating the ownership change and sale isn’t something they have direct ties to, but the NBA will soon be involved after Taylor recently subpoenaed them for the ongoing fight, according to Sportico.
The NBA, which has had zero involvement with the disputes between Taylor and the Lore-Rodriguez group, could now be forced to expose private league communications and financial information as a result of this subpoena.
Adam Silver speaks on Timberwolves sale
At a recent Board of Governors press conference on Tuesday, Silver was asked about where things were at regarding the sale of the Timberwolves due to the troubles that existed. Although he did not dive into any specifics, Silver made it clear to mention that the NBA hasn’t been involved in the process due to the upcoming arbitration case.
“The arbitration process exists independent of the league that was set out in the sales agreement,” Silver told reporters. “Depending on the outcome, only then would the league then continue a vetting process for ownership. We really aren’t operating in any way right now on that situation other than waiting for the outcome of that arbitration.”
As a result of failed mediation during the 2023-24 season between the two sides of ownership, the sale of the Timberwolves now goes to binding arbitration, which is scheduled in November. Ahead of this arbitration, Taylor’s team has sent a subpoena to the NBA in order to gather case sensitive communication and details.
The new ownership group of Lore and Rodriguez had slowly been buying chunks of Taylor’s controlling ownership stake in the Timberwolves throughout the years. After beginning the 2023-24 season with 40 percent, this new group claimed that they submitted the paperwork to acquire another 40 percent, and controlling interest, from Taylor after exercising their option to do so. It was at this point that Taylor quickly stopped the process and declined to sell to Rodriguez and Lore.
Besides all of the off-court drama surrounding the Timberwolves, this organization found a lot of success on the court this past year. The Timberwolves won a total of 56 wins, the second-most wins in franchise history, and Anthony Edwards took the team to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since Kevin Garnett did so in 2004.
With the 2024-25 NBA season drawing near, the Timberwolves find themselves as championship favorites in the Western Conference.
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