MINNEAPOLIS — In a development that will rattle the Twin Cities sports community, longtime Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor announced the deal to transfer majority ownership of the franchise to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriquez is off and that the teams are "no longer for sale."
Taylor, a respected businessman and community supporter, said in a news release Thursday that according to terms of the purchase agreement, the closing of the sale was required to take place within 90 days following a notice issued by Lore and Rodriguez. That 90-day window expired on Wednesday, March 27.
In the release, Taylor said Lore and Rodriguez could have been entitled to a limited extension, "however those circumstances did not occur."
“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” said Taylor. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
The Athletic reports Taylor's announcement comes a week after Lore and Rodriguez submitted signed financial documentation to the NBA to complete the process to purchase majority control of the franchises, according to multiple sources.
It is unclear what happened in a week's time that led to the highly-anticipated deal falling apart, but NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski posted that the relationship between buyers and seller soured as the purchase deadline got closer.
A statement shared with KARE 11 by a spokesperson for Lore and Rodriguez would support reports of an eroding relationship.
"We are disappointed with Glen Taylor’s public statement today. We have fulfilled our obligations, have all necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process," the statement reads. "Glen Taylor’s statement is an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse that is short-sighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during a historic winning season.
Timberwolves beat writer Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic says the scuttled deal comes down to a disagreement over whether the budding owners have lived up to their obligation leading up to the transfer of ownership. Determining whether or not that happened could be a drawn-out ordeal.
KARE 11 is following this story and will have additional details as they become available.
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