The Minnesota Timberwolves are no longer for sale. Glen Taylor struck a deal with New York Yankees great Alex Rodriguez and businessman Marc Lore to sell the team in 2021 for $1.5 billion through a multipart transaction that would take place in installments. A-Rod and Lore had already purchased 40 percent of the franchise from owner Glen Taylor and were expected to finalize their acquisition for an additional 40% this week. However, the deal fell through following their inability to meet the contractual deadlines. But the baseball great isn’t giving up on his NBA dreams just yet!

Despite Taylor’s public statement, the potential buyers contended that they have “fulfilled their obligations, have all the necessary funding, and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process.” However, the prospective buyers’ failure to meet deadlines wasn’t the only reason why the deal collapsed.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the relationship between Taylor and his successors had “disintegrated over the past two-plus years,” which could be one of the many reasons why Taylor decided to pull back.

The most apparent one is that when Taylor struck this deal, he hadn’t foreseen the success the T-Wolves would be enjoying this season. The team is having a historic winning season, hitting 50 wins for the first time since 2003–2004. They are only trailing the Nuggets by half a game for the best record in the Western Conference, with just 22 losses so far. As per Sportico, the Wolves are the 28th most valuable NBA franchise, worth $2.94 billion. Considering the increase in the team’s valuation in recent years, it is understandable why Taylor would undergo “seller’s remorse” as the potential owners have described it.

Did Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore complete the transaction on time?

Rodriguez and Lore were set to bump their ownership to 80% this week. However, a recent development in March involved the Carlyle Group withdrawing a $300 million investment. Nonetheless, Lore and Rodriguez successfully secured backing from Dyal Capital Partners, another private equity firm, just in time to meet the deadline, per The Athletic.

But Taylor contends that Rodriguez and Lore’s ownership group had until Wednesday to finalize the deal with the last payment of $600 million but failed to secure the necessary financing to purchase the controlling interest. According to the purchase agreement, the closing was mandated to take place within 90 days after Lore and Rodriguez issued the exercise notice, and this period ended on March 27, 2024.

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While the buyer could have been eligible for a limited extension under specific circumstances, those circumstances did not occur, as per Taylor’s statement. Taylor further asserts that Lore and Rodriguez are not entitled to an extension because the NBA’s advisory/finance committee has yet to review the final portion of the sale, the board of governors has not given its approval, and the financial transaction has not been completed.

Billion Dollar Failure Fractures Alex Rodriguez & Marc Lore Efforts To Secure Major NBA Dream