The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently looking for a new president of basketball operations to work alongside the current president, Sachin Gupta. Recent reports say that they’re targeting the architect of the Denver Nuggets, Tim Connelly.
Shams Charania, The Athletic reported that the Wolves are in “serious talks” with Connelly:
"“The Timberwolves recently requested permission from the Nuggets to speak with Connelly, and the sides have moved beyond exploratory conversations, sources said.“There have been no agreements reached yet, and nothing appears imminent, sources said.”"
During the NBA Draft lottery, Dane More, Bring Me The News, reported that Minnesota is looking for a “top five” president of basketball operations to work alongside Gupta. Some ridiculed the report since the theoretical top five lead decision-makers in the league are probably well entrenched in their organizations.
The recent reporting about Connelly proves that the Wolves knew what they were talking about and were in the process of receiving permission to interview the Nuggets’ lead man. As Charania adds:
"“Factoring prominently in the decision-making process are minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who joined the organization last summer with the intent of succeeding Taylor as Wolves majority owners by the end of 2023.“Lore and Rodriguez have injected some enthusiasm and aggressiveness into the organization since their arrival. One of Lore’s core philosophies in the businesses he has run has been to hire the best possible people, no matter the cost.”"
On the Denver Nuggets side, this might be the worst possible time to lose a lead decision-maker. This offseason is critical for Denver as they need to build a team around the two-time MVP in Nikola Jokic and the young nucleus of Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon.
In his nine seasons at the helm of this Nuggets organization, Connelly has drafted exceptionally, prioritized in-house talent, and turned this struggling team into a playoff staple. With a selfless superstar in Jokic and one of the longest-tenured head coaches in Michael Malone, the Nuggets have everything in place to compete for titles for the next few seasons. Why would Tim Connelly want to leave that?
If Connelly does leave this offseason, he wouldn’t be leaving with a ring, but he’d be leaving knowing he grew this organization into one of the best winning machines in the current NBA.
Perhaps it’s the allure of another exciting rebuild in Minnesota with the young core of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns that Tim wants to join. Dane Moore suggest that it’s the possibility of a stake in ownership that is pulling Connelly away:
A key negotiation factor in the Timberwolves trying to attract Tim Connelly to be the new president of basketball operations is a stake in ownership, sources say.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) May 18, 2022
Connelly has been on the Wolves list of “top 5” POBO candidates dating back to last summer, sources say. https://t.co/sw2bNWLMXj
If this isn’t on the table for the Denver Nuggets, then it might be a very rare opportunity that he should jump on. The decision will hurt Denver but fans should realize this might not be a sideward move for one of the league’s “top five” presidents of basketball operations.