The Minnesota Timberwolves are a franchise that hasn’t been taken too seriously in the league. They only had one stretch of success in their history and made the playoffs for just the second time since the Kevin Garnett era this season. But their young core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell has shown signs of potential and now they have made another move that is sure to excite the fans.
Adrian Wojnarowski revealed on Twitter that the Wolves have made a big swoop to bring in Tim Connelly as their new President of Basketball Operations, taking him away from Denver by making him a huge contract offer. The deal will reportedly make Connelly one of the highest-paid executives in the NBA and will bring Minnesota all his expertise and know-how in the role:
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1528819459334471682
“Denver Nuggets President Tim Connelly has agreed to a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves that’ll make him one of the NBA’s highest compensated executives. Significant coup for Minnesota franchise.”
“Connelly will sign a 5 year, $40M-plus deal that includes ownership equity, sources said. Massive deal and franchise changing move for the Timberwolves.”
Connelly reportedly deliberated on the move for a couple of days but eventually moved because the offer was so good, with Shams Charania reporting some of the details for The Athletic:
“The new contract more than doubles his salary with the Nuggets, sources said, and the equity component is a unique structure within the NBA that potentially makes the deal far more lucrative.”
He is quite a highly rated executive within the NBA, Connelly was crucial in helping the Nuggets build a contender, he was responsible for picking Nikola Jokic in the 2nd Round of the NBA draft, while also adding Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. around him and hiring coach Mike Malone. This is an incredible move for a Minnesota franchise that has struggled for consistency throughout its existence in the league and a blow for Denver, who will now need to find a new mastermind.
