The Continuing Saga of Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez Buy a Basketball Team for $1.5 Billion
Business partners Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez wanted to buy a pro sports team. Mr. Lore is a former .com and Walmart executive seeking to build a utopian city in the desert. His net worth is $2.8 billion. Mr. Rodriguez is a former Major League Baseball star who is currently banned from the Hall of Fame due to allegations of steroid use. His net worth is $350 million.
Perhaps because of Mr. Rodriguez’s Hall of Fame ban, they sought to purchase a team that played a sport other than baseball. Enter the aging Glen Taylor, owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.
Timberwolves Struggles
The Timberwolves teams have struggled through the years. Before and between their playoff eras, there have been a series of draft foibles and poor decision-making. Only the leadership of Kevin Garnett and, recently, Karl Anthony-Towns has lifted this franchise into a contending position. The past brings groans to long-time Minnesota fans. Who can forget the 2009 NBA Draft when they selected fifth and sixth overall and chose Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, which allowed Stephen Curry to fall to the Golden State Warriors at seven?
Or the Ray Allen for Stephon Marbury trade, which at the time made sense but turned out to be a colossal failure for the team. and of course, the whole David Kahn era which saw them fire Hall of Famer Kevin McHale as general manager to bring in Kahn. Mr. Kahn hailed from the successful Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers that had rattled off five 50-win seasons and 10 playoff appearances. Only one problem. Kahn was not the general manager of those great teams; he worked on the business side of the organization. After Kevin Love bolted for Cleveland and two failed drafts, Kahn was out the door.
Wolves for Sale
So after all of that, Mr. Taylor, who purchased the team in 1994 for $88 million, desired to sell the franchise to an ownership group that would commit to keeping the franchise in Minnesota for the long term. After flirtations by several parties, Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez entered into a deal with Taylor in 2021 to purchase the team for $1.5 billion.
Entering this season, Taylor still controlled 60% of the Wolves because he had structured the deal as a four-year runway to ownership. This would allow him time to mentor Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez as they learned the business. After a series of late payments from the new ownership group, Taylor, in March 2024, exercised his right to pull out of the deal. His given reason was that Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez did not send their final payment within the 90-day deadline of initiating the purchase of their third portion of the club.
The new ownership team cried foul and stated that the delay in sending the final 40% of the payment to purchase the team was due to the slow pace of the league’s approval process. Even considering that, the pair claimed that they had still sent the paperwork on the final sale six days ahead of the deadline. Taylor mentioned at the time of the announcement that his decision was also predicated on the fact that Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez had missed other deadlines during the sales process.
Team Sale Goes to Arbitration
That’s when things started to smell fishy in the land of 10,000 Lakes. Could Taylor’s change have anything to do with the success the Timberwolves were experiencing in the 2023-24 season? And with the rise in value of NBA teams, was he having buyer’s remorse? Then, a Forbes article published at the beginning of the 2024-25 NBA Season seemed to solidify this belief. In this report, the club was valued at $3.1 billion, two times more than the original agreement.
So, the matter went to mediation last May, but this session did not resolve the dispute. On November 4 of last year, the matter was turned over to a three-person arbitration panel (one legal representative from each party and a neutral one), almost ensuring a resolution. On Feb. 10 of this year, the panel, in a 2-1 vote, ruled that Mr. Taylor must cede control of the team to Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez. The decision granted the pair a 90-day extension to finish the sale. The sale is then contingent on at least 23 of the 30 NBA team owners approving the sale.
Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez said this after the arbitration panel announced their decision.
“We look forward to working with the NBA to complete the approval process and close this transaction so that we can turn our attention to winning championships in Minnesota for our incredible fans and the Twin Cities community,
And the Taylors, of course, had a slightly different take on the ruling.
“We will review the decision thoroughly prior to making any further comment. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Timberwolves and Lynx players, staff, and loyal fans for their support.”
Next
Stay tuned for the next chapter of “The Continuing Saga of Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez Buy a Basketball Team.”
