Minnesota Timberwolves Owner Denies Alex Rodriguez's Bid for Stake in Team: 'Disappointed'

Rodriguez said he is "disappointed" by the decision in a statement to ESPN on Thursday

• Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor announced that the option for minority owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore has expired

• Taylor alleged that Rodriguez and Lore failed to meet certain financial requirements of their 2021 deal worth $1.5 billion

• Rodriguez and Lore told ESPN they're "disappointed" by Taylor's statement

Alex Rodriguez is "disappointed" after Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor denied his years-long bid to own a stake in the NBA team.

On Thursday, Taylor announced in a statement via the NBA that he will no longer sell his majority stake in the teams, including the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, to minority owners, Rodriguez, 48, and Marc Lore.

"Glen Taylor, Chairman of Taylor Sports Group, Inc., the general partner of Minnesota Timberwolves Basketball Limited Partnership ('Timberwolves and Lynx'), this morning confirmed the expiration of the option of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to acquire controlling interest in the Timberwolves and Lynx," the statement said.

According to ESPN, Rodriguez and Lore initially agreed on a deal worth $1.5 billion in 2021 for a majority stake in the teams, which required the duo to meet specific financial and contractual deadlines over a number of years. Taylor reportedly alleged in Thursday's statement that the minority owners failed to meet those deadlines.

"Under terms of the purchase agreement, the closing was required to occur within 90 days following the exercise notice issued by Lore and Rodriguez. That 90-day period expired on March 27, 2024," the statement read.

"Under certain circumstances, the buyer could have been entitled to a limited extension. However, those circumstances did not occur."

Related: Alex Rodriguez Says His New Podcast The Deal is About America's 'Fourth Sport' — the ‘Business of Sports’ (Exclusive)

Taylor said in Thursday's statement that he will "continue to work with" Rodriguez and Lore "to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court."

Concluding the announcement, Taylor said, “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”

Lore and Rodriguez issued a statement to ESPN on Thursday, denying that they failed to meet any agreed-upon financial requirements with Taylor.

"We are disappointed with Glen Taylor's public statement today," Lore and Rodriguez said in the statement to ESPN. "We have fulfilled our obligations, have all necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process."

Related: Alex Rodriguez Says He Misses Daughter Natasha 'So Much' Now That She's in College: 'Crushing Me' (Exclusive)

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Rodriguez and Lore's statement to ESPN called Taylor's announcement "an unfortunate case of seller's remorse" and said the decision is, "shortsighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during a historic winning season."

A source close to the organization's ownership group told ESPN that Taylor's professional relationship with Rodriguez and Lore began to dissolve in the last two years.

The Timberwolves are seeing their most successful season in years and currently sit in the second seed in the west behind the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.

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