The yearslong quest by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to acquire control of the Minnesota Timberwolves finally seems to be in the home stretch, after current owner Glen Taylor opted not to appeal an arbitration panel’s ruling that he must go forward with the $1.5 billion sale.
A person with knowledge of Taylor’s decision confirmed it to The Associated Press on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Timberwolves had not offered any public comment. ESPN first reported the decision.
All that appears to be left is final approval by the NBA’s board of governors, which is the last step before any sale of a team can be completed. In February, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he didn’t see any reason why that would not happen — but he also said the board would go through the full process as always.
“We need to follow the process,” Silver said at that time.
The board of governors could vote at any time. It completed a two-day meeting in New York last week and likely wouldn’t meet again until the summer, but it may not need to wait until then to give the sale its final blessing.
Taylor, who turns 84 later this month, grew up on a Minnesota dairy farm and built a fortune with a business that specialized in printing wedding invitations. He bought the Timberwolves for $88 million in 1994 to prevent the franchise from moving to New Orleans.
It was four years ago this month that he was approached by Lore, the former e-commerce chief for Walmart, and Rodriguez, the former baseball slugger who hit 696 home runs over 22 seasons with the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
They quickly agreed on a $1.5 billion deal, and NBA prices have skyrocketed ever since. Last month, the Boston Celtics were sold for a record initial valuation of $6.1 billion — a number that may go even higher before that deal closes.
During the contentious years while the sale was essentially pending, Lore and Rodriguez accused Taylor of having seller’s remorse amid a steady rise in the value of NBA franchises.
The Associated Press contribute to this report.