Per Shama:
The Timberwolves open their regular season schedule tonight against the Lakers in Los Angeles with ownership of the franchise expected to be resolved in the next few months. A source with extensive pro sports ownership experience, speaking on condition that his name not be published, predicted current owner Glen Taylor will retain control of the Wolves and Lynx after the early 2025 resolution—but that may not be true a year from now.
Taylor is in litigation with potential majority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. The dispute is about whether Lore and Rodriquez met the obligations of a drawn-out sales process that began in 2021. A three-person arbitration panel (based in Minnesota) is expected to rule on the majority ownership in November.
Even if the panel rules in favor of Lore and Rodriguez, there will need to be a sale approval by the NBA. There are two reasons why the source believes the league will favor Taylor’s continued control of the NBA and WNBA franchises.
One is the familiarity and relationships NBA’s owners have with Taylor. He has owned the Wolves since 1994 when he bought the franchise for a reported $88 million. He founded the Lynx in 1999. Taylor has served on the league’s Board of Governors and knows commissioner Adam Silver well. The Wolves and Lynx have been stable franchises financially over the decades, while questions have been raised about the financial wherewithal of Lore and Rodriguez who in June reportedly reached agreement with billionaire Michael Bloomberg to join their group.
The second factor, seemingly in Taylor’s favor, is the litigation involves the original agreed upon sale price of $1.5 billion. Since the time that figure was decided, the value of NBA franchises has more than doubled. League owners don’t want to set a precedent of below market value for franchises, knowing that impacts their businesses.
Taylor, 83, has been showing interest for years in moving on from ownership. “I can see him (eventually) selling 50 percent of the franchise to Bloomberg,” the source said.
In that scenario the sale amount would be a market price well over $3 billion for the two franchises. Bloomberg becomes the majority owner at say a controlling 51 percent, while Lore and Rodriguez could keep what’s believed to be their present 36 percent or they might be bought out at a considerable profit. Taylor might want and accept five or 10 percent ownership, joining other small owners who have been part of his group in the past.
Howl Wolves!!
www.startribune.com
