Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are on track to become the majority owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx by 2024. The duo are expected to exercise their option to purchase an additional 40% of both teams from Glen Taylor, which would give them an 80% stake in the franchises, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
When Rodriguez and Lore agreed to purchase the Timberwolves in 2021 from Taylor for $1.5 billion, the deal put in place was a multi-year transition process. It featured payment installments from the pair paid to Taylor over three years before becoming the controlling partners of the Timberwolves and Lynx. It's a unique approach likely used so that Rodriguez and Lore could familiarize themselves with owning a professional sports team and make the transition easier after Taylor owned both teams since 1994.
Rodriguez and Lore already made the second payment back in March 2023, a $290 million lump sum, and now it appears the third payment should be completed soon. Wojnarowski reports that the new ownership group has until Dec. 31 to complete the payment, after that they are expected to become the majority owners in early 2024.
Though they won't officially become majority owners until 2024, that hasn't stopped Rodriguez and Lore from already becoming incredibly involved in the day-to-day operation of the Timberwolves. They were behind bringing in Tim Connelly as the team's president of basketball operations in May 2022, and pushed through the blockbuster trade that landed them Rudy Gobert.
So far this season, the Timberwolves are out to an impressive start with a 22-7 record, which has them atop the Western Conference standings. There's still plenty of basketball to be played, but the roster moves made over the last couple of years have significantly improved the Timberwolves to the point where they could be dangerous in the postseason.
