A-Rod Deal For T-Wolves Still Alive But Sliding

Alex Rodriguez and business partner Marc Lore signed a letter of intent on April 10 to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx in a deal worth around $1.5 billion.

It’s now a month later, the pair has yet to reach an agreement with owner Glen Taylor, and the expiration date for their 30-day exclusive negotiating window has passed. 

Taylor bought the team in 1994 for $88 million and has been in discussions with potential buyers since last July, including former Memphis Grizzlies minority owner Daniel Straus. Taylor has opened exclusive negotiating windows with several groups over the past decade.

While the A-Rod deal is sliding, it’s not completely off the table yet. Rodriguez and Lore still have the ability to come to an exclusive extension agreement and are “continuing to negotiate in good faith,” per ESPN.

Others who have reportedly shown serious interest in buying the team include: 

• Kevin Garnett, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer
• Zygi and Mark Wilf, owners of the Minnesota Vikings

The proposed deal would make Rodriguez’s group full owners of the Timberwolves and Lynx by the 2023-24 season. A-Rod and Lore would become limited partners and buy pieces of the team in phases until then.

Taylor says part of any deal would include keeping the Timberwolves in Minneapolis, where the team has a lease at the Target Center through 2035. The 80-year-old is worth $2.9 billion and also has a stake in the United FC soccer team.

In April, three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade joined the ownership group of the Utah Jazz.