Sources: Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore finalizing deal to buy Minnesota Timberwolves

Former major league slugger Alex Rodriguez and billionaire Marc Lore are finalizing a deal to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves from majority owner Glen Taylor, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.

The purchase price in the deal is expected to be in the $1.5 billion range, sources said.

Taylor will continue to hold full control of the team for two years before Rodriguez and Lore take over in 2023.

Rodriguez and Lore issued a joint official statement on the deal that read: "We look forward to entering this phase of the process with Glen Taylor. Our respect for him and the legacy he has built lays an amazing foundation for what is to come. We are excited by the prospect of getting to know the Timberwolves organization."

Taylor, 79, saved basketball in Minnesota, buying the team for $88 million in 1994 after it nearly moved to New Orleans. He announced in July 2020 that he was selling the team, saying at the time that keeping the Timberwolves in Minnesota was a priority.