At this point, it is hardly a secret that much of the success the Minnesota Timberwolves have enjoyed over the last couple of seasons is largely due to the ingenuity of President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly. Signing a five-year deal with the organization back in May 2022, Connelly was hired away from the Denver Nuggets where, as we would see a year later, he helped build a championship-level squad.
Immediately getting to work, Connelly engineered the trade for Rudy Gobert. While many would heap harsh criticism on him for the move at the time, we have come to see the long-lasting positive effects of such a bold approach. The first of his many tactical moves, Connelly's acquisition of Gobert helped the Wolves build the foundation of what would become an impenetrable defense.
Later, at the 2023 trade deadline, getting Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for pennies on the dollar only further set up Minnesota for success going forward. As we just witnessed, the Timberwolves would take that roster and thoroughly dominate the rest of the league in the 2023-24 regular season, finishing just one game away from the top seed in an impossibly deep Western Conference.
Truly, it was an incredible happening to watch unfold in real time. Tim Connelly put his fingerprints all over a team that won a championship, including drafting Nikola Jokic 41st overall back in the 2014 NBA Draft. Then, he immediately headed to Minnesota to build a team that could take down his previous creation. When the Wolves won Game 7 over the Nuggets less than three weeks ago on May 19, that vision was realized.
Tim Connelly is expected to re-sign with the Timberwolves
With Minnesota's meteoric rise to the top of the NBA standings this past season, rumblings of Tim Connelly potentially leaving the Timberwolves began to surface. The whispers of his departure seemed totally fraudulent at first, but the more rumors floated, the more it hypothetically made sense. He left Denver, didn't he? Why wouldn't he leave Minnesota?
Just as Wolves fans were beginning to worry they could lose the mastermind behind their team's dream season, NBA Insider Shams Charania came in with a report to ease everyone's nerves. According to Shams, Connelly is expected to get a new, restructured deal from the Timberwolves that will ultimately keep him in Minnesota.
Since Tim's signing with the organization over two calendar years ago, the salary for high-earning executives has gone up. Connelly is earning $8 million per year on his current deal, while some of his top-paid peers around the league are earning more in the range of $10 to $15 million per year. With Timberwolves' ownership understanding that his value has gone up, they are now more than willing to open up their wallets to keep him around.
This is of course excellent news for everyone who supports the Wolves and wants to see them succeed long-term. Ensuring Tim Connelly is still the decision-maker as this team looks to continue working toward their ultimate goal of winning a championship was always going to be of the utmost importance.