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The Minnesota Timberwolves begin their 2023-24 NBA season on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors — in what should be the final season opener before Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore become the franchise’s majority owners. But when exactly the duo will officially take the team over remains up in the air.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor recently said he expects Rodriguez and Lore to push back a Dec. 31 deadline for their next payment, which could be as high as $600 million and would give them majority ownership of the NBA club and WNBA team Minnesota Lynx.
Rodriguez and Lore currently own 40% of the teams, while Taylor and other limited partners hold the remaining 60%.
Taylor said he will continue running the team until Rodriguez and Lore take over. The Dec. 31 deadline appears to be flexible, as Taylor said he isn’t worried about finances right now.
“I asked them, ‘Are they set?’ And (if) they got everything — and they said they do — so I take them for their word,” he said on SKOR North’s “The Scoop” podcast. “It doesn’t make much difference to me if it’s December, March, or July. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”
The $1.5 billion valuation of the Timberwolves and Lynx at the time of the sale agreement would make the purchase of 40% of the clubs worth about $600 million. The second payment for a further 20% of the teams reportedly cost $290 million — about 19.3% of a $1.5 billion valuation. There could be escalators in the exact price of payments throughout the deal.
