After a historically successful season where the Timberwolves made their first conference-title series, a fairly surprising name has entered as a potential owner. As The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported, Michael Bloomberg is going to join the ownership group headed by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez attempting to purchase majority control of the Timberwolves. Lore and Rodriguez have been trying to acquire ownership but have been met with issues along the way. The group had agreed with current owner, Glen Taylor, to buy stakes of the team in spirts with the final payment to come at the completion of the 2024 season. However, in March, Taylor stated the team was no longer for sale because of a missed payment from the purchasing group. This thrust the sale into arbitration, which could reportedly go on through the summer if the two sides cannot reach an agreement.
While Bloomberg (listed by Forbes as one of the 15 richest individuals) is one of the wealthiest names to be brought into the purchasing group, he is not expected to provide a huge amount of capital towards the teams purchase since Rodriguez and Lore had already called on others to help finance. The purchasing group already owns around 40% of the team, but Bloomberg will help pay the final $300 million payment. Per Charania, this would give the group secure control of the Timberwolves immediately as opposed to waiting another season, assuming the arbitration ends with a favorable ruling. The group is also interested in what Bloomberg has to offer in the future in terms of capital and expertise.
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