Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are about to land NBAs Timberwolves for bargain price: report

Alex Rodriguez’s dream of becoming the owner of a major professional sports franchise is about to come true, according to a report.The former Yankees slugger, who whiffed on an attempt to buy the Mets, will gain control of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves in a partnership with tech mogul Marc Lore after the club’s 83-year-old owner Glen Taylor declined to challenge an arbitrator’s ruling that greenlighted their purchase, ESPN reported on Wednesday, citing sources.Taylor on Wednesday agreed to sell 100% ownership of both the Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx to the investment group led by Lore and A-Rod for the previously agreed price of $1.5 billion, according to ESPN.A-Rod will likely become the face of the franchise, while Lore — a Staten Island native who rose from modest beginnings to become a billionaire after selling e-commerce site Jet.com to Walmart for $3.3 billion in 2016 — will be the controlling shareholder and governor of both teams.Taylor, who purchased the T-Wolves for just $94 million in 1994, decided to forego appealing a ruling by a three-person arbitration panel in favor of Lore and A-Rod.In March of last year, Taylor accused the duo of reneging on the terms of their 2021 purchase agreement and of missing critical deadlines — an accusation that the two denied — as he tried to back out of the deal as the value of NBA franchises skyrocketed.Last month, the owners of the NBA champion Boston Celtics agreed to sell the team to a group led by private equity manager Bill Chisholm for $6.1 billion.Lore and Rodriguez insisted that Taylor was overcome with a case of “seller’s remorse” after the value of his team surged in the last couple of years amid fan enthusiasm and a deep playoff run by its star-studded roster.Since Taylor first agreed to terms with the Lore-A-Rod team, the team’s value rose close to $3 billion — presenting an opportunity for Rodriguez to profit significantly from the valuation difference.The Post ...