The future governorship of the Minnesota Timberwolves is in limbo lately with Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore looking for a new sponsor.
Current Timberwolves governor Glen Taylor told Shama of Shama Sports Headliners that Rodriguez and Lore had lost their property and that additional payment was needed before they could claim majority ownership of the franchise.
“They had an equity organization that stepped in and invested $300 million, and either that equity organization pulled out or the NBA turned them down,” Taylor said. “They want to swoon and find new income. I know. ” I don’t know if they’ve figured them out yet or what they’re going to do. We haven’t noticed the ownership timeline yet. “
According to Eric Jackson and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, the Carlyle group intended to put in money, but that is no longer the case.
In a statement to Jackson and Novy-Williams, the NBA said it “did not deny the proposed investment through Carlyle. “It’s unclear why the Carlyle Group is no longer involved.
Rodriguez and Lore reached an agreement with Taylor in May 2021 to acquire the WNBA’s Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx.
The NBA approved the sale two months later, and Rodriguez and Lore first paid 20% of the $1. 5 billion price tag. They had the right to buy another 20% of the shares in 2022 and 2023, when they would have controlling governors.
Rodriguez and Lore exercised their first option to buy the clubs in December 2022. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Dec. 28 last year that the duo would exercise their second option before the Dec. 31 deadline.
The deadline for Rodriguez and Lore to pay the final installment to take over the majority of the Timberwolves is March 27.
Although Rodriguez and Lore didn’t take over the Timberwolves, they have played a vital role in the organization in recent years. They pushed for the hiring of Tim Connelly as president of basketball operations in May 2022.
If Rodriguez and Lore can get the money they need, the ownership replacement will still have to go through the approval procedure of the NBA’s Board of Governors.
Taylor bought a majority stake in the Timberwolves in 1994 and bought the Lynx when they were created in 1999.