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Minnesota Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor reportedly believed minority partners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore's financial projections forecasting a sizable retreat in roster payroll would jeopardize the franchise's ability to compete for an NBA championship, which led to his decision to nix his sale of majority ownership to Rodriguez and Lore last month, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday (April 10).
Documents shared with Taylor, the NBA and The Carlyle Group private equity firm outlined Lore and Rodriguez's budget plan, which aimed to lower the Timberwolves' payroll to $171 million, far less than the projected $172 million luxury tax threshold and would've gone from a more than $25 million tax payment to a franchise receiving an estimated $6.5 million tax distribution, beginning next season. Minnesota is currently the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after only making the playoffs four times in the last 20 seasons.
"ESPN Sources: Timberwolves minority partners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez submitted financial projections forecasting a sizable retreat in roster payroll that majority owner Glen Taylor believed would jeopardize franchise’s ability to compete for a title," Wojnarowski wrote on his X account.
Rodriguez and Lore issued a statement after Taylor revealed his decision to nix their purchase of majority ownership on March 28.
"We are disappointed with Glen Taylor's public statement today. 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," Rodriguez and Lore said in the statement, which was reshared by the Athletic's Shams Charania. "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."
Rodriguez, 48, and Lore, 52, had previously purchased 40% of ownership stakes in the two franchises for $600 million and were expected to control 80% as part of the new deal, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in December 2023. The deal, however, expired on Wednesday (March 27) after a 90-day period following the exercise notice issued by Rodriguez and Lore.
“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 the statement shared on Thursday. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
Rodriguez is one of the most polarizing players in the history of baseball, having twice broken the record for the largest sports contract ever signed and also admitting to using banned performance-enhancing drugs from 2001 and 2003, which consequently resulted in a yearlong suspension in 2014, during his 22-year baseball career. The 48-year-old hit for a .295 average and recorded 696 home runs, 3,115 hits and 2,086 RBIs during stints with the Seattle Mariners (1994-2000), Texas Rangers (2001-03) and New York Yankees (2004-2013, 2015-16), winning three American League MVP awards (2003, 2005, 2007), the 2009 World Series, 10 Silver Slugger Awards and being named as an All-Star 14 times.