Alex Rodriguez and his $1.5 billion offer may not be enough to buy the Timberwolves

The battle for ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves seems to have a resolution. However, the issue is not yet settled. In November, an arbitration hearing that began in November determined the validity of the bid submitted by former all-star baseball player Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, which according to some reports is worth $1.5 billion

However, the current owner of the team, Glen Taylor, could receive a boost to retain ownership of the team, as long as he receives the support of other league owners

According to ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst, even if arbitration ultimately rules in A-Rod’s favor, he would still have to gain approval from the NBA owners through a voting process

“The decision will come down to a vote of the owners. Lore and Rodriguez have the money,” Windy commented, as approval by either party requires an affirmative vote of at least three-quarters of the NBA owners.

Why has the sale of the Timberwolves become complicated?

So far, there is still no clear path to the future of the Wolves ownership. Taylor agreed to sell the franchise just as the league was emerging from the pandemic, at a time when four teams were put up for sale

“All of them for over $3 billion. Most recently, we saw the Dallas Mavericks sell for $3.5 billion. We saw the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks controlling stakes sell for over $3 billion in value, which is at least double or more than the Timberwolves,” Windhorst explained on Hoop Collective.

In the case of the Wolves, the value of the franchise has appreciated during this period thanks to the presence of their young star Anthony Edwards, who is now a cornerstone for building a playoff-caliber team. Since the announcement of the possible sale in 2021, the team also broke its playoff drought, to the point that in November 2024, its value reached an estimated $3.1 billion.

That’s why Taylor has opted for two options: to stay with the team or to look for an offer that is much closer to this price or he would be unnecessarily auctioning off his asset, in a context that the Wolves did not have in 2021: the meteoric rise of Edwards and also the recent NBA broadcast rights deal worth $76 billion.

There is another problem that could prolong this dispute: that the vote could create more problems for the league than just defining what the future of the Wolves will be, as it could polarize the owners into two clear sides:

Those who do not want such a precedent to be set will support Taylor to prevent a franchise worth more than $3 billion from being sold at half price, so it is possible that NBA commissioner Adam Silver may not even allow the issue to be voted on

Instead, he could enter into negotiations to increase the offer for Taylor so that all parties are happy, so the possible sale of the Wolves may not be resolved soon, even with a ruling by arbitration.