San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
ARod nears deal to buy T’wolves
Former baseball star Alex Rodriguez and ecommerce mogul Marc Lore signed a letter of intent Saturday to buy the Timberwolves and keep the NBA team in Minnesota, owner Glen Taylor said.
The agreement, which also includes the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, opens a 30day window for negotiations to be finalized. The deal would then need to be approved by the league.
The Athletic first reported the $1.5 billion sale.
Under the conditions of the deal, Taylor, who turns 80 this month, would keep control of the club for the next two years and bring on Rodriguez and Lore as partners until a handover in 2023.
“They’ve asked that I would be there for any decisions that would need to be made,” Taylor told the Associated Press. “I would enjoy that. I love teaching people. These are a couple of very bright guys, and I think it could be helpful to the club and I think I could be helpful to them so that they feel confident once they take over 100%.”
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Lakers 126, Nets 101: Andre Drummond had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Dennis Schroder scored 19 points before he and Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving were ejected in the third quarter and Los Angeles won in New York. A nationally televised matchup already missing plenty of star power lost even more when Irving started jawing with Schroder and neither player stopped quickly enough for the officials. LeBron James (right ankle sprain) and Anthony Davis (right calf strain) remain out for the Lakers, while James Harden is sidelined with a strained right hamstring for the Nets. Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant scored 22 points in his second game back following a 23-game absence with his own hamstring injury. Jazz 128, Kings 112: Donovan Mitchell scored 14 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter and Utah extended its franchise-record home winning streak to 24 games. Mitchell had his 18th 30point game this season, powering the NBA-leading Jazz’s 19-4 run in the fourth quarter. Mitchell has scored 41, 37 and 42 points in his past three games. De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points for Sacramento, which has lost six in a row.
Suns 134, Wizards 106: Devin Booker scored 27 points and host Phoenix used a 44-point third quarter to rout Washington. Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Chris Paul added 13 points and 10 assists and Phoenix had only three turnovers to tie the franchise record. The Suns have won 17 of their past 21 games and are 37-15 overall. Raul Neto had 24 points for the Wizards, and Russell Westbrook added his NBA-leading 22nd triple-double with 17 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. They played without NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal (back tightness).
Trail Blazers 118, Pistons 103: Enes Kanter had 24 points and a franchiserecord 30 rebounds for host Portland. Kanter bested Sidney Wicks’ Portland record of 27 rebounds set in 1975. Damian Lillard had 27 points and 10 assists and CJ McCollum added 26 points for the Trail Blazers. Josh Jackson had 21 points for Detroit.
76ers 117, Thunder 93: Joel Embiid had 27 points and nine rebounds and visiting Philadelphia pulled even with Brooklyn for the Eastern Conference lead. Furkan Korkmaz added 20 points for the 76ers. Darius Bazley had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Tony Bradley added 16 points and 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which has lost six straight.
Raptors 135, Cavaliers 115: Gary Trent Jr. scored a career-high 44 points and Toronto, missing its top three scorers, had a franchise-record 87 first-half points to rout host Cleveland. Trent made 17 of 19 field goal attempts, including shooting 7-for-9 from 3point range, and went 3-for- 3 from the foul line in 33 minutes. He was acquired from Portland with Rodney Hood on March 25 for Norman Powell. The Raptors were without Pascal Siakam (rest), Fred VanVleet (left hip flexor strain) and Kyle Lowry (right foot infection). Collin Sexton scored 29 points for Cleveland.