Alex Rodriguez, three-time MLB vice president and e-commerce mogul Marc Lore, has signed a letter of intent with Glen Taylor and is negotiating to succeed him as owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources said. athletic.
Rodriguez and Lore signed the documents on Saturday and now have an exclusive 30-day negotiation window to try to finalize a deal with Taylor. If completed, it would infuse the Timberwolves with a mega-watt star power. He would also offer Taylor the partners he has long sought to lead the franchise in the future, as he prepares to move away from his 27-year-old team. The succession plan discussed, sources said, would require Rodriguez and Lore – two close friends who are 50-50 partners in the agreement – to join Taylor’s ownership group as limited partners for two and a half years. , at which point Taylor would then step aside and give the reins to the new majority partners.
For a team that disappears with the weakest record in the NBA, has a playoff appearance since 2004 and has seen apathy installed among fans, a new ownership structure with Rodriguez and Lore in prominent roles would generate much-needed energy as it endures another difficult season on the field. It would also bring a dynamic and diverse flavor to the league’s stable, sprinkling a splash of glamor on a franchise that has rarely been the center of attention.
Although the signed letter of intent does not guarantee that a deal will be concluded, it puts Rodriguez and Lore in the driver’s seat. The two sides have already agreed on major elements of a potential transaction, including a $ 1.5 billion valuation for the franchise, sources said. Now they will spend the next month going through the finer points of the negotiation. If a purchase agreement is reached, Lore and Rodriguez should be approved by the NBA Board of Governors before they officially join 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 went from introductions to trading.
In so many ways, this arrangement would give Taylor what she wanted and the organization what she needed.
Taylor has had the team on the market several times over the years, but has never been able to set out 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 preference was to bring in new partners in a limited short-term role so that they could serve as a kind of 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. His continued presence will help Lore and Rodriguez adjust to a new league and a new adventure in the early stages.
This is, without a doubt, an emotional moment for Taylor, who loves owning the Timberwolves. He saved the team from moving to New Orleans in 1994, when he came in from nowhere to buy the team from troubled owners Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson and sees the team as a public trust, a gift from him to the basketball community. -Lovers of the Twin Cities and not only. He wants that gift to stand the test of time long after he leaves.
As he approaches his 80th birthday on April 20, Taylor is looking for a definitive way for the franchise he cares so much about. There is no one in his family who has plans to take over the team, so he looked for a young successor or successors who he thinks 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 fix my house here,” Taylor said. athletic in July.
Taylor has always appreciated personal connections in his business relationships, and this is no different. Lore and Rodriguez have a close relationship and want to continue the family-like atmosphere Taylor has always enjoyed, and the intimate conversations that were shared this week helped Taylors feel comfortable pushing this process forward.
In Rodriguez and Lore, Taylor found two ambitious entrepreneurs with great visions for the franchise. The Wolves are 13-40 this season, fired coach Ryan Saunders in February and took the nods for Chris Finch’s awkward transition. They will lose the choice from the first round in the next sketch, if they do not finish in the first three in the lottery, and the fans moved away from the team because they sank in the standings.
There are also some things that need to be encouraged. Choice No. 1 Anthony Edwards came strong as the season progressed. Jaden McDaniels looks like a 28th pick pick. Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell are finally healthy at the same time, and Finch has shown his promise in his first NBA head coach position.
Now, the Timberwolves could be on the verge of adding a couple of fresh voices and perspectives to the group of owners, with big plans for the future.
Rodriguez, born in New York, was a star for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. He retired in 2016 and spent the last five years emerging as a multifaceted entrepreneur and media star. In his work for ESPN, he is considered one of the most insightful and analytical baseball analysts in the game, has been a recurring judge on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” and has a growing list of successful business investments since fitness rooms up to coconut water. and e-sports. Two of his biggest investment victories were 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 her empire with Quidsi, a company identified primarily with Diapers.com, which sold Amazon for $ 545 million in 2011. He founded Jet.com, a e-commerce site in 2014 and was acquired by Walmart for $ 3.3 billion in 2016. Lore previously served as CEO of Walmart US eCommerce, presiding over a vast expansion of the retail giant’s online business that helped it move to online retailer no. 2 behind Amazon.
Lore has a reputation for her innovative and voracious entrepreneurial spirit and recently presented a vision to build “a city of the future” with a new economic structure in an interview with CNBC. Since moving away from Walmart, Lore has been helping to develop and advise several companies.
Lore and Taylor were both athletic athletes in their younger days, and now Taylor pays serious attention to passing the wand on one of his most prized possessions.
Rodriguez and Lore have been business partners for years. Through their halo company, VCP, they recently acquired Public Archer Aviation, a company that designs and builds fully electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically.
But more than business partners, Lore and A-Rod consider themselves 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 her intentions clear.
“I’ll probably buy a sports team,” Lore said.
Only four months later, Lore and Rodriguez seem to be on the verge, but much work remains. Taylor has in the past entered into exclusive agreements with other groups, including since last summer. Each time, Taylor finally decided he wasn’t ready to sell the team yet.
Several other groups have questioned and met with Taylor about acquiring the team over the past six months, but negotiations have been complicated by the pandemic, which has caused franchise revenues to plummet as the arenas have been in full swing. part closed to fans for a year.
Some would say that Taylor was undecided and several groups came out of negotiations with him, believing that he never really wanted to sell. Taylor would say that he is simply selective, taking the time to find the right partners to take over the team he cares so much about.
In Lore and Rodriguez, she is now in negotiations with a young, dynamic group with strong experience in sports, business and entertainment and recognizing the name that could put the eyeballs on a team that has been so often overlooked.
(Photo: John Lamparski / Getty Images)