"It’s ugly in Minny right now": NBA fans chime in with mixed reaction over Alex Rodriguez shunning Glen Taylor's hugs amid ownership struggles

MLB legend Alex Rodriguez and his partner Marc Lore are currently in a bitter ownership dispute with Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. While the team had an impressive season that saw them make it all the way to the Conference Finals on the back of Anthony Edwards, this offseason will undoubtedly be a big one for the franchise.

In 2021, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor agreed to a $1.5 billion buyout to sell his majority stake in the team. The deal would see MLB legend Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) and businessman Marc Lore buy him out over a period of three years ending in 2024.

As part of the deal, in 2024, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore would have owned a majority stake in the team, however, current owner Glen Taylor pumped the brakes. Earlier this season, Taylor exercised his right as an owner to back out of the deal at the 11th hour.

As he explained, under the new ownership of Rodriguez and Lore, the team's spending would be slashed, leading Taylor to fear a potential regression. Amid a spectacular season, he indicated that rather than risk a roster overhaul because of a lack of spending, he'd rather keep the team.

Thaf has led to a dispute over the future ownership of the team, with the two sides expected to go through an arbitration process to settle the dispute. From the sounds of things, in the meantime, things were awkward during the postseason.

According to a report from The Athletic, at one point during the postseason Alex Rodriguez wanted nothing to do with Taylor's courtside pleasantries.

Fans were quick to react to the news in the replies.

"Why they didn’t release this before the space last night. it’s ugly in Minny right now" - @RockhorsesI (Twitter/X)

"A Rod was playing dodge the hug with Glen Taylor guess he's more of a high fives kind of guy." - @Lil_Dee06 (Twitter/X)

"Grown man rejecting hugs not the headline I expected to see first thing in the morning" - @JonnyBuzek (Twitter/X)

Others pointed out that if this is how the season ended, the offseason is likely to be even more eventful.

"A Rod and Lore agreed to purchase the timberwolves from Glen Taylor but the deal fell apart. The timberwolves started to become good Glen think he can get more money just my opinion." - @Officalmro (Twitter/X)

"It’s going to be a drama filled summer" - @FritzHandles (Twitter/X)

Others took Alex Rodriguez' side in the matter:

"Why woild ARod hug him? Team did better than expected so Glen tried to pull a fast one and then locked ARod and Lore out of the Target Center tunnel!" - @Kbdub05 (Twitter/X)

"Lmfao bro tried to screw them out of the deal and wants to act all buddy buddy now" - @ArraezTime02 (Twitter/X)

Others were left in disbelief by the report:

"I can’t believe this is a real report." - @RealMona_ (Twitter/X)

"It's 7 AM and we are worried about grown men hugging?" - @ImDumbster (Twitter/X)

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Looking at the status of the Glen Taylor-Alex Rodriguez dispute heading into the Minnesota Timberwolves' offseason

So far, it has remained unclear just how things will shake out when Glen Taylor heads to arbitration with Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore. The way some members of the NBA community see things, Taylor backed out of the deal after seeing the team's success this season given the increased value of the franchise.

On the flip side, Taylor, who agreed to the longterm buyout back in 2021 as previously mentioned, indicated that the duo of Rodriguez and Lore didn't check all the boxes to meet the criteria of the sale. In March, he provided a statement to the Associated Press regarding the situation:

“We went through the process, and I spent a lot of time. We’ve got a really good team, we’ve got a lot of good things going for us, I enjoy it and I’m healthy enough to do this.

"I don’t need the money, so I think I’ll just keep running it and enjoy it. I like my coach. I like my staff. This way everybody gets to keep their jobs, and I’ll be happy."

On the flip side, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore believe that Taylor is violating the terms of their agreement, and are eager to prove that they didn't miss any steps to violate the agreement.

As a result, unless something changes, the two sides are headed to arbitration to settle things this offseason. The situation will have a major impact on the future of the Minnesota Timberwolves given that the plan laid out by Rodriguez and Lore would aim to take the team under the soft cap threshold.

On the flip side, though, if Taylor retains ownership of the team, he seems eager to continue to pay the luxury tax to keep the group together and competitive.