'Within a month': Wolves, Lynx ownership dispute could be settled soon

"This is where it stands right now," Charania began in a chat with Pat McAfee on Tuesday.

Apr 14, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez watch in the fourth quarter of the game against the Phoenix Suns at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Marc Lore, Alex Rodriguez and Michael Bloomberg reportedly have almost a billion dollars sitting in an account, ready to be wired to Glen Taylor for full ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.

Whether or not the Lore-Rodriguez ownership group will finish the deal to buy the Timberwolves and Lynx for the previously agreed upon amount of roughly $1.55 billion remains to be seen. Taylor backed out of the deal earlier this year — a surprising decision that Lore and Rodriguez have described as "seller's remorse" — and the two sides are now going to have their dispute settled in arbitration.

Arbitration will start Nov. 4, according to ESPN's Shams Charania — and we could learn the result by December.

"This is where it stands right now," Charania began in a chat with Pat McAfee on Tuesday. "November is when arbitration starts. Glen Taylor against Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore. I believe, from what I hear, within a month we should know who's gonna be the owner of this team. And what's interesting is I'm hearing that Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore have $940 million sitting in a JP Morgan account to be wired to Glen Taylor to finish this purchase o the team. Not only to get just their 60-70% share, but to buy the team 100% in full from Glen Taylor."

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The original agreement resulted in Lore and Rodriguez paying for 20% of the sale price in 2021, followed by an additional 20% installment in 2023. A 40% payment was then expected earlier this year, which would've brought the new ownership group's stake in the franchises to 80%, with Taylor holding onto the final 20% as a minority owner.

The new goal, apparently, is for Lore and Rodriguez, who were joined by Bloomberg — one of the richest people in the world — earlier in 2023, to buy 100% of the Timberwolves and Lynx from Taylor.

The outcome of the ownership battle could come down to the interpretation of one clause in the purchase agreement. Lore and Rodriguez contend an automatic 90-day extension to complete the purchase should have been triggered when they submitted paperwork to the NBA and were waiting on approval earlier this year. Taylor argues that Rodriguez and Lore could have been granted a “limited extension” under specific circumstances, but that those circumstances did not occur.

Perhaps we'll learn the answer to that interpretation by the time the calendar flips to December.

I" do know within a month of that Nov. 4 date, we should know exactly who's going to be the ownership group of this team moving forward," Charania said.

"Within a month we should know who's gonna be the owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves..

I'm hearing that Alex Rodriguez & Marc Lore have $940M sitting in a JP Morgan account to be wired to Glen Taylor to finish this purchase of the team..

They're trying to buy this team… pic.twitter.com/J1lGCObPoS

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 22, 2024