Resources: Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore finalizing deal to Purchase Minnesota Timberwolves, WNBA's Lynx

Former Significant league slugger Alex Rodriguez and billionaire Marc Lore are finalizing a deal to Buy the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx from majority owner Glen Taylor, sources told ESPN on Saturday.

The cost in the price is anticipated to be in the $1.5 billion range, sources said.

Taylor will continue to maintain whole management of both groups for two decades, before Rodriguez and Lore take over in 2023.

"We look forward to entering this stage of the procedure with Glen Taylor," Rodriguez and Lore said in a joint statement on Saturday. "Our respect for the heritage he has built lays an wonderful foundation for what's to come. We are excited about the possibility of getting to know the Timberwolves organization."

Taylor announced in July 2020 he was looking for a buyer. The terms of the sale are much like talks Taylor had in the past year using billionaire Ryan Smith, who walked out of a potential deal to ultimately buy the Utah Jazz for $1.66 billion in October.

Taylor, 79, saved NBA basketball in Minnesota when he purchased the team for $88 million in 1994 after it almost moved to New Orleans. However he has had an unspectacular possession run in the 26 years since, reaching the playoffs only once.

Taylor has had a far more successful tenure owning the WNBA's Lynx, who have won four championships in the past ten years.

Taylor has discussed maintaining the Timberwolves in Minnesota with new ownership, but Rodriguez's ties to Seattle and city's desire for a return of an NBA franchise may become a problem in the long term.

Rodriguez was a part of a team that bid unsuccessfully for its New York Mets.