With $20 Billion Tech Titan Joining The Forces With Alex Rodriguez, Is Timberwolves’ Destiny Set To Be Changed?

Alex Rodriguez may no longer be an active on-field but remains a major sports figure. Outside of baseball, A-Rod is a big businessman, and one of his prized possessions is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Marc Lore and Rodriguez finalized the deal to buy the franchise in 2021. But now the duo has another partner with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt joining them. Eric brings a unique set of skills and resources to assist the struggling Timberwolves in their efforts to regain stability and success.

Alex Rodriguez’s wish to own a sports franchise is known to all. The former Yankee famously tried to purchase the New York Mets in 2021 but got eliminated in the second round. However, A-Rod decided to foray into the NBA the same year and partnered up with Marc Lore to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves at a $1.5 billion valuation. But according to RealGM, they’ve now added Eric Schmidt to the group.

Alex Rodriguez set to finalize Timberwolves acquisition

The deal was structured in a way where Lore and Rodriguez purchased 20% of the team in 2021, another 20% in 2022, and then 40% in 2023 to take their ownership to the 80% level. But it seems to buy another 40%, the ownership raised some money in a $2.1 billion valuation. That explains the entry of Schmidt.

Schmidt had been the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and remained Chairman of Alphabet till 2015. He’ll bring a different level of technical prowess that can improve the analytics of the Wolves. Schmidt has also recently become a co-owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders, so it looks like he’s going all-in on sports management. This could prove to be a game-changer for the struggling Timberwolves.

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The recent woes of the Minnesota Timberwolves

In the past 5 seasons, the Wolves have made it to the playoffs twice – 2021 and 2022. Yet in both of those seasons, they got eliminated in the first round. Though they’ve seen an uptick in form recently and are currently on top of the Western Conference with a 24-9 record, things could get even better with the new ownership.

The team has the quality and is slowly regaining lost ground. The signs of improvement have been there since the day Rodriguez and Lore got involved. Now, with the technical as well as financial prowess of Schmidt, the future is looking brighter than ever for the franchise.

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