Glen Taylor will remain as controlling owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves after Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez did not close on their option by the March 27th deadline.

Lore and Rodriguez agreed to purchase the Wolves in 2021 at a valuation of $1.5 billion. The deal allowed them to purchase 20 percent of the team in July 2021, 20 percent more in 2022 and 40 percent more in 2023.

Lore and Rodriguez were expected to have Dyal Capital Partners finance the final purchase. According to reporting from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the necessary financing had been secured by Lore and Rodriguez, but Taylor contends that they didn't meet contractual deadlines. Wojnarowski also reports that the relationship between Taylor and his successors, Lore and Rodriguez, had disintegrated since they agreed to the sale.

“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” said Taylor. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”

Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic confirmed that Taylor will not put the franchise back up for sale if he retains his controlling interest.

Sources also tell The Athletic that the purchase agreements calls for mediation and arbitration to resolve any disputes. Under terms of the agreement, Lore and Rodriguez will retain the 40 percent of the franchise they have already purchased.

Lore and Rodriguez released the following statement in response:

"We are disappointed with Glen Taylor's public statement today. We have fulfilled our obligations, have all necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process. Glen Taylor's statement is an unfortunate case of seller's remorse that is short sighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during a historic winning season."

The Minnesota Timberwolves are signing forward T.J. Warren for the remainder of the season. Warren recently finished a second 10-day contract with the Timberwolves.

In seven games with Minnesota, Warren averaged 4.1 points over seven games.

Rudy Gobert has met the NBA's 65-game threshold to became eligible for postseason awards, reported Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Gobert is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner.

Jayson Tatum also recently became eligible for postseason awards. 

In a simple message posted on Instagram, Nemanja Bjelica announced his retirement from playing basketball.

"20 years...Thank you basketball" was Bjelica's message on Saturday afternoon.

The 6-foot-10 forward played for seven seasons in the NBA. Bjelica started his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015, before moving to the Sacramento Kings in 2018. At the 2021 trade deadline, Bjelica was dealt to the Miami Heat. He then signed with the Golden State Warriors, and helped the team win the 2022 NBA Finals.

Following that NBA title, Bjelica returned to Fenerbahce in Turkey. He had previously played for the Turkish club before coming to the NBA.

Bjelica also played professionally for clubs in his native Serbia and in Spain during his 20-year professional career. The 35-year-old had also suited up for the Serbian national team for several EuroBasket and World Cup competitions, as well as Olympic qualifiers.

An employee of the Minnesota Timberwolves was fired, arrested and charged with felony third-degree burglary for allegedly stealing thousands of internal files, including "strategic NBA information," from a team executive, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday and obtained by ESPN.

The Timberwolves told ESPN that they were aware of the allegations and had no further comment at this time. A source told ESPN that the team would not pursue criminal charges.

Somak Sarkar, 33, who previously served as a coaching analyst for the Timberwolves, is in custody and faces a court hearing Thursday afternoon in Minnesota.

On Feb. 2, the complaint says, Sachin Gupta, a Timberwolves executive vice president who oversees the team's analytics department, left a hard drive connected to a laptop in his office at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

That drive contained Gupta's personal financial information as well as private information for the team, including employment and player contracts.

Another employee was able to recover the hard drive from Sarkar, and the team determined, after a forensic analysis, that he had accessed more than 5,000 files and downloaded them onto another device.

Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are ready to close their purchase of the Minnesota Timberwolves after reaching a deal with Dyal Capital Partners to finance the deal.

Dyal Capital Partners joins as a pre-approved investor in the group, which gives Lore and Rodriguez the final financial backing necessary to complete the transaction.

Lore and Rodriguez have submitted the signed financial documentation to the NBA to complete the acquisition. 

The Carlyle Group has dropped out of financing the next payment by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Carlyle had been in talks with the NBA for several months about the possible investment, but were unable to agree to a structure that would be approved by the league.

Glen Taylor said on Tuesday there’s been issues surrounding $300 million of financing for the latest funding round. The deadline for the payment, which will give the duo another 40% bringing them to 80% of the team, is due at the end of March.

“They (Lore and A-Rod) had an equity group that was going to come in and put in $300 million, and that equity group has either withdrawn or the NBA has denied them,” Taylor told reporters. “They have to go out and find new revenue. That I do know.”

Lore and Rodriguez agreed to purchase the Timberwolves for $1.5 billion.

An NBA spokesman said in a statement that the league “did not deny Carlyle’s proposed investment.”

Anthony Edwards dislocated his finger on a dunk over John Collins, he said in a postgame interview with Bally Sports North.

The dunk occurred in the third quarter with the Timberwolves trailing by a point.

Edwards returned to the game to shoot free throws with his fingers taped up.

Collins suffered a head contusion on the play, according to league sources.

Collins did not have a concussion.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are signing forward T.J. Warren to a second 10-day contract. Warren's first 10-day deal with Minnesota expired on Saturday.

Warren appeared in four games for the Wolves on his first 10-day deal. The veteran forward averaged 4.8 points in 16 minutes per game. Warren was pressed into immediate rotation minutes, with Karl-Anthony Towns out due to surgery for a partially torn meniscus.

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that Karl-Anthony Towns underwent successful surgery on a Left Knee Lateral Meniscus Tear.

Towns will be re-evaluated in four weeks and further updates on his progress will be provided when available. 

Towns is widely expected to return during the early part of the playoffs.