Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor voided the sale of the franchise, as well as the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore due in part to forecasted cuts to team payroll, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Lore and Rodriguez reportedly shared budget projections to Taylor and the league, as well as private equity firm The Carlyle Group, that depicted a $171-million payroll for the 2024-25 campaign. However, Minnesota is already projected to have $185.7 million in taxable salaries next season, courtesy of Spotrac, despite only 10 players currently under contract. Part of the reason for the jump in spending is due to max extensions set to kick in for Anthony Edwards (five years, $204.5 million) and Karl-Anthony Towns (four years, $221.1 million).
Taylor reportedly feared the reduction in payroll would negatively affect the Timberwolves’ potential to compete for a title. It’s unclear how Lore and Rodriguez would have reduced the team’s total salary, but their apparent budget target of $171 million would have gotten the team underneath next season’s projected $172-million luxury tax marker. Minnesota is just under $1 million shy of crossing the tax threshold this season, per Spotrac.