Timberwolves insider: Report questioning Alex Rodriguez's finances doesn't pass smell test
On Tuesday, the New York Post published an article with the headline: "How Jennifer Lopez breakup jeopardizes Alex Rodriguez’s $1.5B Timberwolves deal."
The article cites an anonymous source who claims Rodriguez is struggling to come up with finances for the $250 million payment he and Marc Lore owe Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor by the end of this year as the second installment in their move to become majority owners of the Minnesota NBA franchise.
But where Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic was caught by surprise is when the article cited the mystery source saying Rodriguez hosted business meetings at his "lavish homes" in Bel-Air and the Hamptons, where Jennifer Lopez would go "in and out of the room with workout clothes."
"When you see a story or an article built around this premise that J-Lo's looks and status are what was securing Alex Rodriguez financing and not the actual projects that he is investing in, it just didn't really smell right to me," Krawczynski said on his podcast, The Jon Krawczynski Show.
Furthermore, Krawczynski says there is "no doubt" Rodriguez and Lore will make the $250 million payment that is due in December.
"Everyone that I talked to on all sides of this deal remained 100% confident that the payment is going to be made at the end of December, the payment is going to be made at the end of December 2023 and they're going to close this deal," said Krawczynski.
"I think that there was an opportunity for a tabloid to put Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez in a headline and attract some attention and some audience. They did that, but the reporting behind it is pretty flimsy from what I've been able to decipher over the last couple of days here."
Krawcyznski confirmed the NY Post details that of the 20% of the Timberwolves and Lynx franchises Lore and Rodriguez currently own, Lore controls 13% and Rodriguez is at 7%.
"What I've been told by several people involved in this process is that it is entirely possible, that with this next $250 million that is due in four months, that Alex Rodriguez may be the one paying in more of that chunk than Marc Lore to kind of balance the scales a little bit," he continued.
"The bottom line is that they have Glen Taylor's trust in this situation," Krawcyznski added. "There is no doubt that they're going to hit those deadlines."
