Sale of Minnesota Timberwolves Hitting Another Snag

The long saga of the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves has hit another snag. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is reporting that one of the minority owner-shareholders in the NBA franchise is suing majority owner Glen Taylor for violating terms of the partnership governing the sale of the team. Meyer Orbach, who owns 17% of the franchise claims that the partnership agreement provides for minority investors to sell their interest before Taylor does.

Taylor has entered into an agreement with an ownership group headed by former Jet.com and Walmart executive Marc Lore. The group includes former Major League Baseball player Alex Rodriguez.

Wojnarowski also highlights a bombshell revelation coming out of the lawsuit:

Despite Taylor’s public statements to the contrary, he has included no provision in the $1.5 billion sales agreement with Lore and Rodriguez that requires the new ownership group to keep the franchise in Minnesota upon taking control of the team, according to an exhibit in the complaint.

In fact, new details of Taylor’s sale agreement with Lore and Rodriguez — expected to be completed by July 1 — include a clause under “Governance Matters” that lists several actions that would require new ownership to “present to the Advisory Board for discussion” — including any plan to “relocate the team outside of the Twin Cities market.”

The Timberwolves have played in Minnesota since their inaugural season in 1989-90.