Story by
Glen Taylor Finally Throws in Towel on Timberwolves Ownership Battle
- Story by
- Glen Taylor Finally Throws in Towel on Timberwolves Ownership Battle
Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
For years now, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been caught in a brutal, bloody battle between two billionaires claiming they hold the legal rights to ownership over the 26-year NBA franchise .
It all started around this time back in 2021 , when news broke that longtime Timberwolves owner, Glen Taylor, had agreed to sell the team to an ownership group headed by Diapers.com founder Marc Lore and infamous Major League Baseball superstar, Alex Rodriguez.
Advertisement
The deal laid out a two-year plan of multiple "tranche" payments that would eventually secure the Lore + A-Rod group 3/4 of the NBA franchise. That was until March 2024 , when rumors became reality and Glen Taylor pulled the rug out from underneath the sale, citing missed payments as the reason for voiding the final payment that would have secured Marc Lore his majority share of the team.
Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
That kicked off a legal battle that has been in the news ever since. A couple months ago, we thought we finally got resolution when a three-judge arbitration panel ruled 2-1 in favor of the Lore + A-Rod group, and awarded them legally binding ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves, pending a final 3/4 NBA Board of Governors approval vote.
Glen Taylor gives up on Minnesota Timberwolves ownership battle
But when NBA owners met last week, commissioner Adam Silver told media members that they were unable to vote on the Timberwolves' majority ownership change because Glen Taylor was still deciding whether or not to appeal the arbitration ruling, something he could only do if he was questioning the integrity of the arbitration panel.
Advertisement
In the end though, Taylor has decided not to fight another legal battle he probably wasn't going to win. On Wednesday morning, Shams (ESPN) reported that Glen Taylor has decided not to appeal the arbitration ruling and that the NBA will begin the ownership transfer process immediately.
Glen Taylor has agreed on Marc Lore-Alex Rodriguez acquiring 100% ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx at the same $1.5 billion tag the sides reached in 2021, sources said. https://t.co/15fDL1aBFk
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 2, 2025
This is huge news for Minnesota Timberwolves fans across the world who have been waiting for Glen Taylor to sell this organization to an ownership group with big dreams and eyes on investing in the future. That doesn't just mean the roster.
Glen made it apparent these past two or three years that he is willing to pay whatever luxury tax payments necessary to roster championship caliber team. Unfortunately, Taylor's small town attitude clouded his view of what the Wolves can be and what type of arena they deserve to play in.
Now, with Lore and A-Rod at the helm, we can expect conversations about a new arena to take its place near the top of local news headlines for the foreseeable future. They've already been exploring multiple locations for the team's next arena. How that arena will be funded is still very much up in the air.
Advertisement
Let's remember the good Glen Taylor did for MN basketball…
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been owned by Glen Taylor since 1994 , which means he is not the original owner of our favorite NBA franchise, which played its first season in 1989-90, under the founding owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner.
In fact, Glen wasn't really on the radar at all as a possible Timberwolves owner, until after the state of Minnesota failed multiple times to find a savior determined to keep the team local. After only four seasons as Wolves owners, Harv and Marv ran into financial issues.
Related: Timberwolves Planning to Keep Julius Randle and Naz Reid…?
Advertisement
So, after they failed to secure a deal with the City of Minneapolis to purchase the remaining $73 million owed on Target Center at the time , they sold the team to a new ownership group, an investor firm named "Top Rank", which had concrete plans in place to move the Timberwolves to New Orleans.
Credit: Greg Smith-Imagn Images
The deal Top Rank + Harv/Marv had agreed to was worth $152 million, which was scheduled to be paid by "$40 million from unknown investors; up to $76.25 million in loans from banks that had yet to make commitments; and $50 million or more from undisclosed sources based on projected revenues from the un-built arena in New Orleans."
Fortunately, the basketball god were smiling down on Minnesota that day. Because after much deliberation, the league decided to deny the sale of the Timberwolves, which kept the organization in Minneapolis for at least one more season (1994-95).
Advertisement
That time Glen Taylor saved the Minnesota Timberwolves
According to the Wikipedia page on the Wolves failed relocation attempt of 1994, the NBA rejected Top Rank's offer due to "questions surrounding their financing plan". The NBA even filed an injunction lawsuit in US District Court against any transfer of the Timberwolves out of Minnesota for at least one year.
But even then, Glen Taylor wasn't supposed to be the rich guy who swooped in and saved the Minnesota Timberwolves from demise. That was meant to be another local Minneapolis multimillionaire — Bill Sexton, an insurance tycoon and former St. John's basketball star — was pegged as the man for the job. Panic nearly set in when that deal fell through in August 1994.
Related: Minnesota Timberwolves Brawl Suspensions Handed Out
Advertisement
Shortly after that, a group headed by Taylor entered the fold. By October, all the paperwork was signed and Glen Taylor was handed the keys Target Center, where he has held courtside seats as the majority owner for the 21 years since. That is until the next time NBA owners gather together and vote in Marc Lore as the third majority owner in Minnesota Timberwolves franchise history.
