MINNEAPOLIS — Deep into a long and bitter fight for ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez steeled away to an undisclosed location over New Year’s while they endured the arbitration process that would decide their fate.

They were confident in their position. They believed that, eventually, a three-person panel would rule in favor of them in their dispute with Glen Taylor, clearing the way for them to complete their $1.5 billion purchase of the two franchises. But there was a helplessness at play as well. The decision was out of their hands, and it prompted the partners to pull out all the stops down the stretch, even when they were on vacation.

“I remember going to church like four out of the five days, hoping and praying that we would win,” Rodriguez said in an interview with The Athletic. “And then Marc’s like, ‘Why are you late?’ I’m like, ‘My bad, I’m in church again. I’m praying.’”

Divine intervention did not deliver the Wolves and Lynx to Lore and Rodriguez. The NBA’s Board of Governors welcomed Lore and Rodriguez’s ownership group into the exclusive club on Tuesday when the league announced it had unanimously approved the sale. The stamp ended a four-year saga that began under the best of terms, with Lore and Rodriguez reaching an agreement in 2021 to buy the teams from Taylor in a process that wound up being a massive headache for all involved. Taylor tried to nullify the deal, but the arbitration panel denied those efforts February. Lore and Rodriguez went through a final vetting process from the league and, two days after the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, they were officially approved as majority owners.

“It was definitely a relief,” Lore recalled about the feeling that hit when he learned that the arbitration panel had ruled in their favor. “It felt right. Anytime you’re on the right side and you realize that laws do work in the U.S., it feels good to know that you know there’s a real justice system.”

Taylor, who bought the Timberwolves in 1994 for $88.5 million to save them from moving to New Orleans, and his wife, Becky, issued a public statement Monday thanking fans for their support over their 30 years of ownership.

“Though we are stepping away as owners, our love for this organization and this community remains as strong as ever,” the Taylors said. “We will always be fans, cheering from our seats, celebrating your triumphs, and believing in what comes next. It has been the honor of our lives.”

Lore, an entrepreneur who built his fortune in the start-up world and is now helming a new food delivery company called Wonder that was recently valued at $7 billion, according to Bloomberg, and Rodriguez, the retired baseball star, had remained quiet during the arbitration process that took about a year to play out. Now that all of that is behind them and they are closing on their deal with Taylor, they spoke with The Athletic to discuss how their partnership will work, their priorities for the short and long term and their commitment to Minnesota.

“This is really a dream come true, right?” Rodriguez said. “When you come from very little, you appreciate everything. … As a kid if someone said, ‘Would you be a coach?’ Probably. But a team owner? This is just really a dream come true.”

The two friends have spent the last four years learning the league and were integral in making some of the decisions that helped the Timberwolves emerge as Western Conference contenders. They take over with grand ambitions for a franchise that only recently has stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight. They eventually want to build a new arena, have already appointed an interim leader of the business side of the operations to take over while they search for replacements for chief executive officer Ethan Casson and chief operating officer Ryan Tanke, longtime leaders of the business side and close allies of Taylor, and are working on a contract extension for Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who helped build the Wolves into back-to-back Western Conference finalists.

Staying put

The most important message they want to send to basketball fans locally and throughout the league is that the Wolves and Lynx are going to remain in Minnesota for the long haul.

“In the start-up world, I’ve always been driven by the mission, not the money,” Lore said. “And mercenaries are driven by money. And I think anybody who would even contemplate moving the team is clearly a mercenary. The only reason would be for money, right? And that’s just not us.”

Lore and Rodriguez have heard all of the doubts and concerns from local fans over the last several years about the future of the Wolves and Lynx. Lore is from New York and Rodriguez lives in Miami. When the two entered into the agreement, fans immediately assumed that the two would want to move the teams out of the snowy north. They have repeatedly stated their intentions to stay and doubled down again on that now that the deal is official.

“We love the idea of Minnesota history and playing a part in that history,” Lore said. “To move it and start over would be devastating to not only the community and the fans, but us as well. It’s not consistent with our value system.”

Lore and Rodriguez said that Target Center will eventually have to be addressed. It is the second-oldest arena in the league, and the only one with more seats in the upper deck than the lower bowl. That configuration, among many other outdated facets of the building, severely limits revenue generation. The new owners want to build a new arena, but both said they know that project will take time to develop. They said they were not ready to discuss specifics of a plan yet because there is still so much work left to be done.

“We know we want to create a best-in-class arena with separation from the second-best, like really set a new standard,” Lore said. “It’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of thinking on how to innovate with this new arena in a way that no other team has done before us. And that’s something that’s going to take many years. It’s not something that is going to happen in the next few years.”

In the shorter term, Lore and Rodriguez are focusing on making improvements to the fan experience at Target Center in an effort to make the old building feel fresh.

“With how competitive the league has gotten, I think (an arena) is part of the economic model that is more of a necessity in the future than a luxury,” Rodriguez said. “And you see all the great teams that are doing it at the highest level. They have new buildings and the revenues show that.”

The partnership

The league announced that transaction will close this week, and there is an interesting wrinkle to how the pairing will lead the Timberwolves and Lynx.

“Mr. Lore and Mr. Rodriguez will serve as Co-Chairmen, with Lore assuming the role of Timberwolves Governor and Rodriguez as Alternate Governor,” the league’s statement read. “For the Lynx, Rodriguez will serve as Governor while Lore will act as Alternate Governor.”

Lore likened the pairing to his business ventures, calling Rodriguez a “co-founder.”

“We are co-chairmen,” Lore said. “We do it together. We make all critical decisions together, and the cool thing is that we have a very clear shared vision and we also operate with the same set of personal core values, so that’s a great foundation.”

Both have been visible in the Twin Cities since entering into the purchase agreement. They were at playoff games, both home and away, including the Game 5 loss to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals that ended the Wolves’ season. The two have already started to form a strong relationship with rising star Anthony Edwards and were pivotal in Connelly’s arrival in Minnesota from Denver three years ago.

“When we have discussions it feels like we get to a better answer every time than one of us would get to alone which, I think, is magic. I really do,” Lore said. “And we’re great friends outside of the Wolves.”

Rodriguez said the two have complementary skills. Lore’s business acumen and push for innovation set him apart from Rodriguez, whose experience as a superstar athlete helps him understand the dynamics of the team on a deeper level.

“There is a bit of a checks and balances because sometimes I may be off a little bit and he brings me back to the center and vice versa,” Rodriguez said. “So I think two is better than one. And I think with our experiences, I think that both franchises, hopefully, will benefit from that.”

The two of them have spent the last four years meeting with other ownership groups across leagues to determine best practices. The importance of hiring the right people and letting them do their jobs was a key lesson, they said.  Lore said the goal is to establish a set of standards and principles within the organization.

“Once they understand the nuances and the vision strategy in the same way that me and Alex do, then there’s no need to be involved in the decision making at all,” Lore said.

If the extended saga presented an advantage for them, it gave them time to research the league and familiarize themselves with the people in the building. They recruited Connelly away from Denver, a move that Taylor ultimately approved because he was still in control. They were consulted on Taylor’s decision to extend the contract of head coach Chris Finch. They have met extensively with Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve, who led the Lynx to the WNBA Finals last season and has them off to a league-best 12-1 start this year.

That was part of the impetus behind the three-step approach to buying the team. Now, Lore and Rodriguez say they are focused on continuity, not bringing in their own people.

“Let’s make it very clear. Marc and I are not making basketball decisions,” Rodriguez said. “What we’ve learned is some of the best governors throughout sports, they spend most of their time in the front end hiring the right people. … We give them guidelines, we give them budgets, and then Tim can cook. And then we stay out of his way. That’s also really important.”

Investing in the teams

Along with Lore and Rodriguez, a deep-pocketed limited partner group that includes former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be coming to the Wolves and Lynx. The group plans to close the deal with Taylor quickly, having set aside $950 million in an escrow account to use to pay the final installment and buy out Taylor and his limited partners entirely.

As they take over, they come into a different economic and competitive reality for the Wolves than when they first signed the agreement back in 2021. First and foremost, the valuation of the franchise has skyrocketed over the last four years. The Lakers just sold for at least $10 billion. The Celtics went for more than $6 billion, rendering the Wolves a relative steal.

The new collective bargaining agreement has changed the way rosters are constructed, bringing steep penalties for exceeding certain spending thresholds. This past season, the Timberwolves had one of the most expensive rosters in the league, and Lore and Rodriguez will pay a $90 million luxury-tax bill. The money is one thing, but consecutive seasons in the second apron of spending leads to an inability to make trades, the loss of salary-cap exceptions to sign free agents and the threat of having a team’s first-round pick frozen at the bottom of the round.

As of now, the Wolves are projected to dip below the second apron starting July 1. Lore said they will be strategic about when they go into the second apron.

“We’re thinking about creating a sustainable culture of winning over the long period, but when we see a time to strike where we think we’re in striking distance of going all the way, then we’re going to lean into that,” Lore said.

“I think we have to be able to kind of read the room and that’s why we have Tim Connelly and lean on him,” Rodriguez said. “We’ll be ready to strike when the time is right. But at the same time we want to be disciplined because with that discipline you get kind of what Oklahoma City has, which is this sustainable model, which we’re doing in the early days of that for us.”

When Lore and Rodriguez first came aboard, the Wolves had missed the playoffs in 16 of the previous 17 years and were coming off of a 23-49 season in Edwards’ rookie year. Now, Minnesota has been in the playoffs four straight years, including back-to-back runs to the conference finals, an unprecedented level of success for the franchise. Edwards has emerged as the face of the franchise, one of the league’s most charismatic young stars. Connelly helms a highly respected front office that includes general manager Matt Lloyd, vice president of basketball operations Dell Demps and just lost another rising star, Jon Wallace, to a prominent position with the Denver Nuggets. Finch has won more playoff games and has a higher regular season winning percentage than any coach in Timberwolves history.

Lore and Rodriguez said they are putting a premium on continuity, believing that it is a key to the sustained success they want to build in Minnesota.

“I wouldn’t trade these three for anyone,” Rodriguez said. “When you talk about Tim Connelly, coach Finch and Anthony Edwards, especially because of Anthony’s age, having those three together is a great kind of foundation.”

Connelly’s contract is up, but he said earlier in the offseason that he wasn’t going anywhere and, team sources said, turned down overtures from other teams looking to poach him. A new deal is expected sometime this summer.

“We don’t have anything to announce yet, but I can just tell you we’re at a really good place,” Rodriguez said.

On the Lynx side, the new owners inherit a team that is in a much different position. They are one of the WNBA’s crown jewels, with four championships and seven finals appearances, including the loss to the New York Liberty last season. Reeve and superstar Napheesa Collier, the leading candidate for league MVP this season, have the team primed and ready for another run at title No. 5 this season.

“Marc and I are looking to support Cheryl and her vision and help her execute what she’s already done for many, many years,” Rodriguez said.

Lore does not see any difference in how they will run the Timberwolves versus how they will run the Lynx, saying the core values and emphasis on continuity will come from “the same playbook.”

“In the case of Lynx, we just happen to have, we believe, the best (team president) in all of the WNBA,” Lore said. “So that’s in a great spot. And really we just want to make sure that we continue to support her and the team and players, and keep that continuity there and keep everyone motivated to continue to to go after more championships.”

The biggest changes to the organization early in the new era figure to be on the business side of the operations. Casson and Tanke, the longtime leaders of that side of the franchises, announced last week that they were stepping down as soon as the sale closes. Several other prominent members of the staff have moved on, including chief sales officer Jake Vernon going to the Buffalo Sabres and David King, vice president of corporate partnerships, leaving for the Carolina Panthers.

Lore and Rodriguez appointed Kelly Laferriere, the chief business officer at A-Rod Corp., to oversee the business operations on an interim basis while they look to make new hires.

A new era

The vote on Tuesday represented a tectonic shift in the franchise’s history. Lore and Rodriguez helm the third group to own the Wolves. Their ascension to controlling interest was fraught with peril and surrounded by whispers that they would not be able to complete the process. They emerged on the other side of the battle as the victors, and now years of planning and talking must turn into action.

They come to a sports market that is cloaked in cynicism due to a lack of success from the men’s pro teams, none of which have won a championship since the Twins in 1991. Many Wolves fans are thrilled at the prospects of a new energy and aggression at Target Center. Others are nervous about the newness of it all and are wondering what to expect.

New owners often make big mistakes in their early days in charge while they acclimate to the position. Lore and Rodriguez have seen and studied those mistakes and are trying to come in with a pragmatism that belies their swagger. The struggle was long, but it also may help them in some ways.

“I’m glad that we’re not coming in fresh day one,” Rodriguez said. “Because I think that’s where a lot of mistakes can happen. Hopefully the excitement of being a governor is a little bit more tame and we can just make more measured decisions.”

But they do understand the fan angst and impatience for a champion. All of that discipline and patience goes out the window in the two and a half hours that they’re watching the games.

“We’re like fans,” Lore said. “We feel the pain as much as the fans do and we feel the excitement just like fans do. But we’re not going to let our emotions impact decision making. That’s where we drew the line.”

Rodriguez described their partnership as a “work-married couple.” He said they leaned on each other during the last four years, and that won’t change now that they are in charge.

“We could have all the emotions and all that, but when it comes to making decisions, we’re very level-headed, and we’ve got both of us,” Lore said. “Maybe I’m not level-headed one day, and Alex pulls me in. Or maybe Alex is not and I do the same. We always seem to get to the right answer. And I think we’re going to make better decisions together than either one of us can make alone.”

(Top photo: Bruce Kluckhorn / Imagn Images via USA Today Network)