So, you’re sitting there, sipping your latte, and you wonder: “Is Alex Rodriguez, the guy who once dated a pop star and hit 696 home runs, actually part owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves?” It’s a fair question, because the answer is as tangled as a pair of Beats headphones left in a gym bag. Let’s unpack this wild sports-business soap opera, shall we?
The short, punchy answer is: Yes, Alex Rodriguez is indeed a part-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves. But—and there’s always a “but” in a story involving A-Rod—he’s not exactly running the show without some serious drama. Think of him as the guy who owns a slice of the pizza but keeps arguing with the chef about the toppings.
Let’s rewind to 2021. A-Rod and his business buddy, Marc Lore (the e-commerce wiz behind Jet.com), decided they wanted to play with a real team—not just fantasy league. They agreed to buy the Timberwolves from long-time owner Glen Taylor for a cool $1.5 billion. Yes, billion with a B. That’s more money than most of us will see in a lifetime, unless you count Monopoly dollars.
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The deal was structured like a reality TV show season: pay in installments, get a little more power each time, and eventually take full control by 2023. But here’s where it gets sticky—like a poorly thrown alley-oop. Glen Taylor, the previous owner, is a man who apparently loves a good plot twist.
In March 2024, Taylor suddenly announced that the sale was off. He claimed A-Rod and Lore missed their payment deadlines by a mile—or at least by a few weeks. A-Rod, of course, fired back like he was arguing with an umpire: “We had the money! The check is in the mail!” It became a he-said, he-said saga fit for a Netflix docuseries.
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So, does A-Rod still have a piece of the team? Yes—for now. He and Lore currently own about 40% of the Timberwolves. That makes them the second-largest shareholders, like the guy who brings the chips to the party but doesn’t decide when the party ends. The remaining 60%? Still firmly in Glen Taylor’s gnarled, old-school hands.
This ownership struggle is more entertaining than most Timberwolves games last season. Arbitration is now involved—because what’s a sports deal without lawyers getting a slice of the pie? The league (the NBA) is watching with popcorn in hand, wondering if this will be the messiest ownership handoff since that one time a guy tried to trade a car for a draft pick.
And here’s a surprising fact that will make your head spin like a basketball on a fingertip: A-Rod and Lore have already been making big decisions for the team. They helped hire the current president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly. They pushed for trade moves. It’s like buying a house but being allowed to paint the walls before you finish paying the mortgage.
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But wait—there’s more. If Taylor wins the arbitration battle, A-Rod and Lore might be kicked to the curb like a rejected halftime performer. They’d lose their 40% stake and probably get a refund, but with a side of public humiliation. If they win, they get to run the whole circus by 2025. Win or lose, it’s high-stakes poker with a billion-dollar pot.
Why does any of this matter to you, the casual fan? Because it affects the Timberwolves’ future. If A-Rod and Lore are out, the team might be sold to someone else—maybe a tech billionaire from Silicon Valley who thinks “Minnesota” is a type of winter jacket. If they stay, expect more celebrity flair: A-Rod courtside, grinning like a Cheshire cat, and Lore inventing new ways to sell merchandise through an app.
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And let’s not ignore the irony: Alex Rodriguez, the former New York Yankees star, is trying to own a team in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes and even more cold shoulders. It’s like a lobster trying to buy a bakery in Iowa. But hey, the guy has a knack for reinvention—from steroid scandal to baseball analyst to businessman. If anyone can charm a bunch of Minnesotans into letting him run their basketball team, it’s probably him.
So, to answer your café question one last time: Is Alex Rodriguez part owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves? Yes, he is. But it’s less “part owner” and more “co-conspirator in a billion-dollar heist that’s still in negotiations.” Grab another latte, because this saga is far from over. I give it a season or two before they turn it into a Broadway musical.
In the meantime, Timberwolves fans should just enjoy the court-side chaos—and maybe pray that A-Rod doesn’t try to name the team the “New York Timber-Rods.” That, my friends, would be a tragedy bigger than losing the draft lottery.
