Timberwolves minority owner files complaint against sale to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, per report

It appears as though the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx may have hit a snag Wednesday, as the second-largest shareholder of both teams, Meyer Orbach, has filed a complaint stating that the transaction is in violation of his partnership with Taylor and the rest of the current shareholders, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. 

Via ESPN:

“The complaint cites Taylor’s failure to honor the “tag along rights” for minority investors in the franchise, which allows them to sell their interests in the teams before Taylor sells his own.”

The sale of the Timberwolves is expected to be completed on July 1, but it still needs to be approved by the Board of Governors. In addition to the complaint regarding the “tag along rights,” the document also highlights something that Taylor assured wouldn’t happen: the possible relocation of the franchise out of Minneapolis. Taylor has said publicly that any sale of the Timberwolves would have to hinge on the fact that the new ownership wouldn’t move the team out of the city. However, an exhibit in the complaint paints a different picture.

Despite Taylor previously saying that there would be language in the deal that would prohibit Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez from relocating the team, there reportedly isn’t any language of that kind in the document. Instead, it says the new ownership group would have to “present to the Advisory Board for discussion” on any plan that would involve relocating the team. But at the end of the day, the advisory board would not have to give its approval on the matter.

Lore and Rodriguez bought the Timberwolves and Lynx for $1.5 billion in April, and will buy the teams in installments first before taking complete control of the franchises in 2023.