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The feud between Alex Rodriguez and Glen Taylor over ownership of the Timberwolves won’t be resolved by hugging it out.
Taylor, the owner who was on the verge of selling the NBA franchise to Rodriguez and partner Marc Lore before calling off the deal, tried to hug the Yankees great at a playoff game but was rebuffed, according to The Athletic.
Taylor reportedly tried to greet Rodriguez and Lore multiple times throughout the playoffs, even amid an ownership fight.
Taylor, 83, agreed to sell his majority ownership stake in the Timberwolves to Rodriguez and Lore — the former CEO of Walmart — in 2021.
The plan called for a three-year succession plan ending in 2024.
But Taylor announced earlier this year that the Timberwolves were no longer for sale.
He said Lore and Rodriguez missed a payment deadline in the purchase agreement, which the two would-be buyers have denied.
Of course, it just so happens that Taylor backed out of the agreement during the Timberwolves’ best season in 20 years.
Led by burgeoning superstar Anthony Edwards and All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves won 56 regular-season games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals — both firsts since 2003-04.
A three-person arbitration panel has been formed to review the contract and determine ownership, according to The Athletic.
The unsettled dispute could cost the Timberwolves their president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, who was recruited away from the Nuggets by Rodriguez and Lore.
The Timberwolves’ roster is at a crossroads as salaries for key players threaten to take them over the luxury tax.
Rodriguez has been acting like an involved owner-in-waiting.
He was waiting at the tunnel to hug Timberwolves players after their season-prolonging Game 4 win against the Mavericks, sharing a video of the interactions on Instagram with the caption “Never give up, never surrender!”
But the Timberwolves couldn’t overcome a 3-0 series deficit — as the Red Sox once famously did to A-Rod’s 2004 Yankees — and their season ended with a Game 5 loss.
“What a season!” Rodriguez wrote afterward. “Hard fought with grit and heart. I’m so proud of our team, this organization, and our incredible fans. Thank you for the passion. We’ll be back!
“Our” and “we.”
It is still to be determined if that’ll be the case going forward.
