Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez entered the month of March one payment away from becoming the majority owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. After slowly buying ownership equity over time from current owner Glen Taylor, the new ownership group needed $600 million in order to buy Taylor out of his majority ownership stake in the franchise. As of Thursday morning, this is no longer the case, as Taylor announced that the option for Lore and Rodriguez to acquire controlling interest in the Timberwolves and Lynx has expired.

Under terms of the purchase agreement, the final purchase of ownership stake was set to occur within 90 days following the exercise notice issued by Lore and Rodriguez, per a team release. This 90-day period expired on March 27, 2024, and no extension was given by Taylor.

“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,” Taylor said in the team's press release on Thursday. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”

The relationship between Taylor and his expected successors, Lore and Rodriguez, had disintegrated over the last couple of seasons, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Although the two businessmen raised enough capital to purchase the remaining equity from Taylor, the current owner contends that they didn’t meet contractual deadlines throughout this transition period.

“We are disappointed with Glen Taylor's public statement today,” a spokesperson on behalf of Lore and Rodriguez told The Athletic's Shams Charania on Thursday. “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 completed its approval process. 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.”

Now, the future of the Timberwolves and Lynx franchises looks very uncertain given the battle of Taylor vs. Lore and Rodriguez.

What happened in Timberwolves sale?

Minnesota Timberwolves co-minority owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore celebrate a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers after a play-in game at Target Center.
Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

On March 20, the ownership group of Lore and Rodriguez, which was expected to take over the majority ownership of the Timberwolves and Lynx organizations from Taylor by the end of the month, submitted signed financial documentation to the NBA in order to complete the acquisition of majority control of the franchises, according to The Athletic.

This final acquisition was for the remaining 40 percent of Taylor's ownership stake in Minnesota. Previously, the group led by Lore and Rodriguez had purchased a 20 percent ownership stake from Taylor on two different occasions dating back to 2021. When this plan was first introduced and Taylor signed off on selling his ownership stake over time, it was agreed that there would be a gradual move to controlling partners.

This is what Taylor had wanted, as the 82-year-old owner did not want to give up full control of his organization immediately. The transition period also gave Lore and Rodriguez the necessary time to not only get their finances in order but also gradually increase their involvement with the NBA world. In total, this purchase was expected to be around $1.5 billion in multiple purchases over time.

Before the start of 2024, it was reported that Lore and Rodriguez were expected to exercise their option to acquire controlling ownership interest in the organization as soon as December 28, 2023. This option allowed for the final 40 percent ownership stake to be purchased within a 90-day window, giving them until March 27, 2024 to submit the final documents and papers needed to make this transaction final.

Recently, Lore and Rodriguez lost the financial backing from the Carlyle Group, which had joined the new Timberwolves ownership group to supply the $300 million needed to purchase the remaining 40 percent Taylor still owned. The final 40 percent that was set to be purchased by the Lore-Rodriguez group was valued at $600 million, and this was the payment due on March 27.

Upon completion of this purchase, the Lore-Rodriguez group would've owned 80 percent of the organization, taking full ownership of the franchise. Carlyle was not able to meet certain requirements the NBA makes of investors, which led to the Carlyle Group withdrawing their funds.From here, Lore and Rodriguez created a new partnership with Dyal Capital to make up for Carlyle's lost assets.

At this time, it is unknown why formal paperwork and the transaction for the remaining 40 percent of team capital owned by Taylor were not successful for the new ownership group.

Current state of the Timberwolves

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This news of the Timberwolves ownership transaction falling apart comes in the midst of the Timberwolves' best season in two decades. They are currently 50-22, recently crossing the 50-win plateau for the first time since the 2003-04 season. That year, the Timberwolves won a franchise-record 58 games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. The organization has not won a playoff series since.

Since Lore and Rodriguez announced their plans to purchase the team from Taylor in 2021, the Timberwolves have become a popular brand across the NBA. Former first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns remains one of the faces of the franchise, as does 2020 first overall pick Anthony Edwards. This season, Edwards has taken his journey to stardom to new heights, averaging 26.2 points and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and 37.3 percent from three-point range. All of these averages are new career highs for Edwards.

The Timberwolves have sat near the top of the league standings throughout the 2023-24 season, and they now reside just a half-game behind the Denver Nuggets for the 1-seed in the Western Conference with only 10 games remaining on their schedule.

Tim Connelly, the Wolves’ president of basketball operations, was recruited by Lore and Rodriguez in 2022 to spearhead the Timberwolves' front office after building a championship-caliber team in Denver throughout the years. From there, Connelly executed the blockbuster trade to acquire defensive star Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz, as well as veteran guard Mike Conley, during the 2022-23 season. After a shaky start with the Timberwolves, Gobert is now expected to win the fourth Defensive Player of the Year award of his career at the conclusion of this current season.

Taylor, who has owned the Timberwolves since 1994, has made it clear that Thursday's statement was strictly in regards to failed business practices pertaining to the contract agreed upon by all parties.

“We're just saying we had a contract with you guys, you've had your time and this is the end of the contract and we're just kind of go on running the way we've been run,” Taylor told The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski.

At this point, there is no clear answer as to how Taylor's refusal to sell will impact the organization. Lore and Rodriguez have been committed to becoming the new owners of the franchise ever since they began purchasing equity from Taylor in 2021. Whether or not the new ownership group has fulfilled their obligation to Taylor, who is denying the sale of his ownership stake, is now going to be a matter the league and lawyers will review.