Sources – Lore, Rodriguez has $940 million ready for Wolves ahead of ruling

Minority owners Marc Lehr and Alex Rodriguez have $940 million in a bank account ready to immediately transfer to majority owner Glenn Taylor and the NBA for full control of the WNBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx if they win approval, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

Taylor said he no longer wanted to sell the team.

Lore and Rodriguez have an arbitration hearing with Taylor scheduled for Nov. 4, and then will need approval from the NBA Board of Governors before they can take full ownership of the franchises. All team sales require approval from at least 23 owners.

Loer and Rodriguez agreed more than three years ago to buy the Timberwolves for $1.5 billion from Taylor, who halted the sale on March 28 because he said they had missed the deadline to make the final payment.

Loer and Rodriguez said they had enough funds to complete the deal but the NBA delayed them in approving the deal and were therefore entitled to an extension. After mediation fails to resolve the dispute, the two sides proceed to an arbitration session in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Having already made payments to buy 40% of the team in 2022 and 2023, $940 million represents the remainder of the total for Lore and Rodriguez to acquire 100% ownership of the Wolves and Lynx.

Billionaire businessman and former three-term New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has reached an agreement to join the Laure Rodriguez Group over the summer, sources said.