Current majority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves Glen Taylor and his wife Becky Mulvihill greet minority owner Alex Rodriguez after the team defeated the Golden State Warriors at Target Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 1, 2023. / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
The long-awaited arbitration decision to determine who assumes majority ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves finally came on Monday in favor of Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, who are set to take over the franchise in short order.
Longtime owner Glen Taylor lost a 2-1 decision by the arbitration panel after calling off the sale just under a year ago when he said Lore and Rodriguez missed the deadline to complete the sale. At that point, Lore and Rodriguez were awaiting NBA approval to complete the sale and believed they should have been granted an automatic 90-day extension.
Ultimately, the panel agreed with Rodriguez and Lore, who will now have 90 days to complete the final payment and gain approval from the NBA Board of Governors to become the next owners of the Timberwolves and Lynx.
Fans had been watching closely and were thrilled with the news, happy to see the franchise leave the hands of Taylor, who has been a fairly unpopular figure in Minnesota. Tons of Wolves fans were quick to post memes on X, formerly Twitter.
It wasn't just fans who pointed out some of Taylor's shortcomings as the owner of the Wolves. National analyst Bill Simmons of the Ringer shredded Taylor in a post on X, sarcastically saying the longtime owner will "be missed."
"Historic run for Glen Taylor: 30 years, but only (two) seasons with a playoff series win," Simmons posted. "Plus, no NBA Finals appearances, a huge scandal (Joe Smith), a slew of truly horrible trades/signings/hirings, and in the end, he couldn't even sell the T-Wolves correctly. He'll be missed."
Some fans were more generous to Taylor, who was adamant about keeping the Wolves in Minnesota, something that fans did appreciate about him, even if he wasn't the most popular figure in the state's sports scene.
Regardless of all the reactions and takes following the final ownership decision, Monday marked a significant change for the franchise. New owners will be able to take the Wolves in a new direction in the coming years.