Report: Glen Taylor subpoenas NBA amid Wolves ownership dispute

Sportico is reporting that Taylor subpoenaed the NBA looking for communications.

Current majority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves Glen Taylor and his wife Becky Mulvihill greet minority owner Alex Rodriguez (right) after the team defeated the Golden State Warriors at Target Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 1, 2023. / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has subpoenaed the NBA amid the legal ownership battle of the franchise with co-owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, according a report by Sportico. 

Taylor and Lore and Rodriguez have been locked in a battle over ownership of the Timberwolves since March 28 when Taylor released a statement saying the two business partners violated terms of the purchase agreement, and the sale was off. Rodriguez and Lore have disputed Taylor’s claim. 

The battle remains ongoing with a previous mediation session failing to reach any agreement between the parties. There’s now a binding arbitration hearing scheduled for November. And according to Sportico, Taylor has subpoenaed the NBA in a rare move that could lead to the public disclosure of league communications and financials relating to the Timberwolves. 

Taylor’s lawyers issued a subpoena to the NBA months ago looking for communications and information, according to Sportico. The NBA has tried to distance itself from the dispute and has avoided involvement, saying it’s between Taylor, Lore and Rodriguez. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says the league has “no role” in the dispute in April and reiterated it again recently. 

Lore and Rodriguez agreed to purchase the Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx from Taylor back in 2021 in a multistep purchase totaling $1.5 billion (the franchise is now worth nearly $3 billion).

Lore and Rodriguez had delayed payments at different points throughout sale, but they contended they had the necessary funds to complete the final purchase in March and had submitted paperwork to the NBA in order to gain league approval of the change in ownership. If there were any money concerns, they were quelled entirely when they added billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to their ownership group back in June. The final payment is reportedly in escrow.

The outcome of the ownership battle likely comes 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. Taylor argues that Rodriguez and Lore could have been granted a “limited extension” under specific circumstances, but that those circumstances did not occur.