The team is up for sale.
Alex Rodriguez is part of a group that wants to buy the National Basketball Association’s Minnesota Timberwolves. Whether Rodriguez and his partners can finish the deal is unknown at this point as Rodriguez dropped out of the bidding for Major League Baseball’s New York Mets franchise in 2020. If Rodriguez and his associates do land the Minnesota NBA team, Rodriguez and his partners have promised the outgoing owner Glen Taylor that the team will stay put in Minneapolis. “We have it in the contract, they have signed the contract to do that,” Taylor said. Taylor stepped in after the 1994 season to buy the Timberwolves business from Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson after the NBA blocked a sale of the team to New Orleans investors that included boxing promoter Bob Arum. Ratner and Wolfenson ran into financial problems paying for an expansion franchise and sinking money into the Minneapolis arena.
Taylor pointed out he could sell his business to Rodriguez but the NBA ultimately says yes or no. “The real agreement is with the NBA. The NBA will make the decision if somebody’s going to move or not move. The NBA will not approve of the Timberwolves moving from here to Seattle. It’s in the NBA’s interest that in Seattle, that a new team is formed. It’s an economic decision that’s in the interest of all of the owners.” It is interesting that Taylor brought up Seattle, The NBA is considering expansion at some point in the future and Taylor thinks Seattle is in line to get a franchise. Taylor thinks Rodriguez is buying a Minnesota business for about $1.5 billion and won’t pay a relocation fee. The league will charge at least two billion dollars for an expansion franchise. Seattle is opening a renovated arena later this year to house a National Hockey League expansion team.
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