Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore will not become the majority owners of the Timberwolves after all.
The former baseball star and former Walmart CEO had purchased 40 percent of the franchise from owner Glen Taylor and were reportedly set to finalize the acquisition of an additional 40 percent soon, but the team announced Thursday that the sale has fallen through.
“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 in a statement. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
In the team’s announcement, it was said that “under terms of the purchase agreement, the closing was required to occur within 90 days following the exercise notice issued by Lore and Rodriguez. That 90-day period expired on March 27, 2024.”
The franchise declined to make contingencies to extend the time frame.
“Under certain circumstances, the buyer could have been entitled to a limited extension,” the team said.
“However, those circumstances did not occur.”
The WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx are also involved in this decision by Taylor.
“We are disappointed with Glen Taylor’s public statement today,” Rodriguez and Lore said in a statement, per ESPN. “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 short sighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during a historic winning season.”
Taylor purchased the Timberwolves in 1994 for $94 million.
The announcement comes at a time when the Timberwolves are performing the best on the court in quite some time.
Minnesota is 50-22 this season, just a half-game behind the Nuggets for the best record in the Western Conference.
Anthony Edwards, the first overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, is in his fourth year in the league and appears to have a long runway as one of the sport’s top talents.
The 22-year-old is averaging 26.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season.