The Minnesota Timberwolves are embroiled in two different issues that will influence the team for years to come.
The first is tied to their title chase against the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference playoffs. The second has been about club leadership, with a months-long battle pitting New York Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez and partner Marc Lore against owner Glen Taylor over team ownership.
RESTORING GLORY
If Rodriguez gets his request, it would be decided in court arbitration in the “coming months,” Sportico said Sunday, after mediation failed to resolve the dispute. It’s a verdict that will bring a lot of attention and cost more than Rodriguez and Lore expected.
“I got good news and bad news for whoever wins this ridiculous fight for ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe remarked on his podcast, “The Lowe Post,” on Monday. “Whoever wins this struggle is in financial jail; you have to keep this squad together. They are definitely too good, and I am sorry, but you will have to pay a lot of luxury tax. Too awful.
In April, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski claimed that Rodriguez and Lore planned to slash payroll to $171 million beginning next season, which is less than the $172 million luxury tax threshold, implying that the team will receive a tax dividend rather than pay a tax.
Minnesota is on track to have the league’s fourth-highest salary for the 2024-25 season at $198 million, including three max contract players, and it’s difficult to plan a roster with such a deep cut without dealing one of the franchise’s core players.
Taylor, 82, said on March 28 that he was exercising his right to withdraw from the final phase of the oddly constructed deal because Lore and Rodriguez did not meet the deadline for the final payment, which was to transfer an extra 40% share in the club – around $600 million.
Lore and Rodriguez disagreed vehemently. The couple said they were awaiting NBA approval for the documentation they provided by the March 27 deadline, which entitled them to a 90-day extension under the contract. They accused Taylor of simply having seller’s remorse because the Timberwolves’ valuation has risen since the agreement, reflecting a sustained increase in NBA income.
According to Forbes, the Timberwolves were valued at $2.5 billion in October 2023, up 50% from $1.7 billion in 2022.
According to The Athletic, the parties want arbitration with a three-person panel in Minnesota to begin “promptly,” though judges and timetables will need time to be established.
The conflict is around an approximately 1,500-word section of the sales agreement that not only spells out the parameters of the deal, but also how it will be addressed now that the parties involved have reached an impasse.
Taylor admitted his change of heart last month, but said it was due to the positive sentiments in the organization after a 56-26 season that finished second in franchise history.
“We’ve got a really good team, a lot of good things going for us, I enjoy it, and I’m healthy enough to do this,” Taylor said in an interview with the Associated Press following his decision. “I don’t need the money, so I’m just going to keep running it and enjoying it. I like my coach. I like my coworkers. This way, everyone can keep their employment, and I’ll be satisfied.
Lore, an e-commerce entrepreneur, and Rodriguez, a former Major League Baseball player, reached an agreement with Taylor in 2021 to purchase the Timberwolves and the Minnesota Lynx WNBA franchise for $1.5 billion. Taylor, who purchased the franchise for $88 million in 1994, structured the agreement in stages so that he could act as a mentor to the newcomers as they learned about the league, the organization, and the Twin Cities region. Lore and Rodriguez jointly hold 36% of the club.
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