Timberwolves Owner Purposefully Sabotaged Deal With Alex Rodriguez: REPORT

The saga of ownership control over the Minnesota Timberwolves organization has become one of the most fascinating stories in sports.

Current majority owner Glen Taylor had seemingly reached an agreement to sell his majority stake in the team to another group led by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore. That agreement fell apart over the past few months, with Taylor saying that the Rodriguez-Lore group had missed a payment, allowing him to void the deal. 

Rordriguez though, denied that statement, stating that they'd fulfilled their requirements. 

READ: Alex Rodriguez Timberwolves Group Denies Statement, Says They Fulfilled Requirements

So what really happened? 

A new report from Joe Pompliano on his Huddle Up Substack revealed more behind-the-scenes detail of how the relationship between Taylor, Rodriguez and Lore fell apart. And it sure sounds like Taylor decided to sabotage the deal intentionally.

Minneapolis - Current owner Glen Taylor and limited partners and alt-governors for the Minnesota Timberwolves Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lore hold up jerseys after answering questions at a press conference at media day. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Timberwolves Ownership Drama Started With New Basketball Operations Hire

According to Pompliano, the disagreements between the two parties started in large part because Rodriguez and Lore brought in Tim Connelly to run the basketball operations side of the Timberwolves.

Connelly was given a massive compensation package; $8 million per year over five years, as well as offered incentives based on the organization's performance financially during his tenure. Taylor reportedly hated paying a basketball operations executive that much money, and balked at giving him a version of equity in the business.

While Connelly was still eventually hired at the $8 million per year hire, the incentives were removed and fractures between Taylor, Rodriguez and Lore started to get deeper.

Sure enough, as Rodriguez and Lore got closer to completing the long-standing deal in 2024, Taylor then pulled the rug out from underneath them. After selling more of his stake to the new group, Taylor's stake had actually dropped below A-Rod and Lore's, making him one of the minority owners. But he came to a backroom agreement to buy nearly 3 percent more of the team from a limited partner, pushing again into control.

There's only one explanation for why he'd chose to do that when he was ostensibly selling the team anyway: because he had no intention of going through with the agreement. He effectively sabotaged the deal, regardless of whether or not Rodriguez and Lore had the money to complete it.

What Happens Next?

According to Pompliano, it seems likely that the two parties are heading for some sort of litigation. Next steps include mediation and arbitration, but even court proceedings aren't out of the question. 

Taylor believes he has the ability to win; that his actions to terminate the agreement were correct. But Rodriguez and Lore won't go down easily, as their original purchase price now woefully undervalues the real world price of the Timberwolves.

The Connelly hire that started the disagreement has helped make Minnesota one of the NBA's best teams. And with a 1-0 series lead, pending the result of Tuesday night's game against the Phoenix Suns, the value and revenue of the team could only increase. And with Connelly able to get out of his contract after the season, there's a non-zero chance he leaves rather than deal with the uncertainty.

Regardless, it seems like this saga is a long way away from a conclusion. Stay tuned.