When the Minnesota Timberwolves made the decision to part ways with Gersson Rosas just before the start of the 2021-22 NBA season, it left the franchise without a president of basketball operations. Although Sachin Gupta took over on an interim basis, he will now once again play second fiddle. This time to Tim Connelly, who was the POBO for the Denver Nuggets, a Western Conference rival of the Wolves.
According to Shams Charania, it’s a five-year, $40 million contract to bring Connelly aboard. As previously suggested, the deal also includes ownership equity.
What does Tim Connelly hire mean for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
Connelly’s new contract makes him one of the highest-paid executives in basketball. The Nuggets worked to retain Connelly with a strong offer, but they weren’t willing to include ownership equity, unlike the Wolves. It’s worth noting, very few executives have ownership equity tied into their contracts.
There’s a reason why the Nuggets didn’t want to lose Connelly. He’s become a widely-respected member of their front office since taking over for Masai Ujiri in 2017.
Timberwolves’ owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez initiated the discussions with Connelly, with Glen Taylor doing his part, meeting with the new POBO for four hours on Saturday.
Now he’ll look to mold the Timberwolves’ already strong roster into an even better one as they embark on the 2022 offseason. This follows just their second playoff appearance in the past 18 seasons, but the current talent on hand presents plenty of hope for several more postseason matchups in the years to come.
It’s not hard to see why Connelly was intrigued by the gig, and of course, money talks, but there’s a true opportunity to take what’s seen as a struggling franchise for the better part of the past two decades into a consistent winner.
We’ll see what type of summer the T-Wolves have in store for them now.
Related: Minnesota Timberwolves offseason preview: Four moves team must make to return to playoffs