The three MLB vice president Alex Rodriguez and e-commerce mogul Marc Lore have signed a letter of intent with Glen Taylor and are negotiating to succeed him as owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources said. Athletic.
Rodriguez and Lore signed the documents Saturday and now have a 30-day exclusive negotiation window to try to finalize a deal with Taylor. If completed, it would infuse the Timberwolves with some mega watt stellar power. In addition, he would give Taylor the partners he has long sought to bring the franchise to the future as he prepares to step away from the team he owns for 27 years. The succession plan being discussed, sources said, would require Rodriguez and Lore (two close friends who are part of 50 to 50 partners in the agreement) to join Taylor’s group of owners as limited partners for two and a half years, at which point Taylor stepped aside and handed over the reins to the new majority partners.
For a team suffering the worst record in the NBA, it has had a playoff appearance since 2004 and has seen apathy set in among fans, a new ownership structure with Rodriguez and Lore in prominent roles would generate energy much needed as he endures another difficult season on the track. In addition, it would bring a dynamic and diverse flavor to the stable property of the league, spreading a bit of glamor to a franchise that has rarely been in the spotlight.
While the signed letter of intent does not guarantee that an agreement will be completed, it does put Rodriguez and Lore in the driver’s seat. The two sides have already agreed on some of the key elements of a possible transaction, including a $ 1.5 billion valuation for the franchise, sources said. Now they will spend the next month going through the best points of the negotiation. In the event of a purchase agreement, Lore and Rodriguez would have to be approved by the NBA Governing Board before officially joining the organization.
The two friends met face-to-face with Taylor and his wife, Becky, at the couple’s home in Naples, Florida, this week, in a process that quickly shifted from submissions to hiring.
In so many ways, this deal would give Taylor what he wanted and the organization what he needed.
Taylor has had the team on the market several times over the years, but has never been able to prove himself to give up a franchise he bought in 1994 for $ 88 million. It has long been a priority to find a group that is committed to keeping the team in Minnesota. Another of his preferences has been to get new partners with a limited short-term role so that he can serve as a mentor and help make the transition as smooth as possible. Taylor is proud of his experience at the top of the Timberwolves and the relationships he has cultivated over the years throughout the league, including with other owners and commissioner Adam Silver. Their continued presence would help Lore and Rodriguez adjust to a new league and a new adventure in the early stages.
Without a doubt, this is an emotional moment for Taylor, who loves being the owner of the Timberwolves. He saved the team from moving to New Orleans in 1994 when he went into nothingness to buy the equipment from distressed owners Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson and sees the team as a public trust, a gift he gave to the basketball community – loving people in twin cities and beyond. He wants this gift to stand the test of time long after he is gone.
As he approaches his 80th birthday on April 20, Taylor has been looking for a definitive path for the franchise he cares so much about. There is no one in his family who plans to take over the team, so he has been looking for a young successor or successors who he believes can take care of the team and the people involved.
“I think as time goes on, I’m more inclined to say I should probably tidy up my house,” Taylor said. Athletic in July.
Taylor has always valued personal connections in their business relationships, and this is no different. Lore and Rodriguez share a close bond and want to continue the family atmosphere Taylor has always valued, and the intimate conversations they shared this week helped the Taylors feel comfortable going through this process.
In Rodriguez and Lore, Taylor has found two ambitious entrepreneurs with great visions for the franchise. The Wolves are between 13 and 40 years old this season, they fired coach Ryan Saunders in February and took the lumps out of the awkward transition to Chris Finch. He will lose his first-round selection in the next draft if they don’t finish in the top three of the lottery and fans have pulled away from the team as they have sunk into the standings.
There are a few things to cheer on as well. Anthony Edwards ’No. 1 pick has gained strength as the season has progressed. Jaden McDaniels looks like a robbery in the 28th selection. Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell are finally healthy at the same time and Finch has been promising in his first NBA coaching job.
Now the Timberwolves could be about to add a couple of new voices and perspectives to the group of owners with big plans for the future.
Rodriguez, born in New York, was a star of the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. He retired in 2016 and has spent the last five years emerging as a versatile entrepreneur and media star. He is considered one of the most insightful and natural baseball analysts in the game in his work for ESPN, has been a recurring guest judge on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and has a growing list of successful investments in businesses, from gyms to coconut water. and electronic sports. Two of his most important investments have been in Fanatics and the goPuff digital delivery service. He is also a co-founder, partner and board member of J-Lo Beauty, which was launched with his fiancée Jennifer Lopez in January.
Rodriguez’s experience as a superstar player would give him instant credibility with players and coaches and his relationship with Lopez would bring global recognition to a franchise that could use it.
Lore, 49, began building his empire with Quidsi, a company primarily identified with Diapers.com, which sold on Amazon for $ 545 million in 2011. He founded Jet.com, a trading website e-commerce in 2014 and was acquired by Walmart for $ 3.3 billion in 2016. Lore previously served as Walmart’s e-commerce CEO in the United States, presiding over a major expansion of the retail giant’s online business that helped him to move to the No. 2 online retailer behind Amazon.
Lore has a reputation for her innovative and voracious entrepreneurial spirit and has recently detailed a vision for building “a city of the future” with a new economic structure in an interview with CNBC. Since moving away from Walmart, Lore has helped develop and advise several more companies.
Both Lore and Taylor were track athletes in their younger days, and now Taylor is seriously considering moving the baton to one of her most prized possessions.
Rodriguez and Lore have been business partners for years. Through their halo company, VCP, they recently made public Archer Aviation, a company that designs and builds all-electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically.
But more than business partners, Lore and A-Rod are considered closest friends. They tried to buy the New York Mets, which were eventually sold to Steve Cohen last year. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in January, Lore made his intentions clear.
“I’ll probably buy some sports equipment,” Lore said.
Just four months later, Lore and Rodriguez seem to be at the door, but there’s a lot of work left to do. Taylor has signed exclusivity agreements with other groups in the past, even last summer. Each time, Taylor finally decided he wasn’t ready to sell the team yet.
Several other groups have also asked and met with Taylor about buying the equipment over the past six months, but negotiations have been complicated by the pandemic, which has led to a drop in franchise revenue as areas they have been largely closed to fans for a year.
Some would say Taylor has been undecided and several groups came out of negotiations with him believing he never wanted to sell in the first place. Taylor would say he’s just selective, taking his time to find the right partners to take over the team he cares so much about.
At Lore and Rodriguez, he is now negotiating with a young, dynamic group with strong training in sports, business and entertainment and name recognition that could put eyeballs on a team that has been so often overlooked.
(Photo: John Lamparski / Getty Images)