The Dallas Mavericks are hiring former Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as their new team president. Throughout their search for a new lead executive, Dallas was attempting to poach Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. As such, this news should be a massive relief for Wolves fans as Connelly is primed to stay in Minnesota.
Connelly still being under contract always made this possibility difficult for the Mavs. Nevertheless, rumblings of Connelly being "gettable" persisted throughout this process. Thus, it's nice to see that Connelly is officially staying put.
Shortly after this news broke, HoopsHype reported the Wolves are looking to extend Connelly, who has just one more year left on his contract.
Tim Connelly has proven to be one of the best executives in the NBA
Since he arrived in Minnesota four years ago, Connelly has transformed the Wolves into a legitimate championship threat. Before that, he built the foundation of a Denver Nuggets team that won a championship in 2023.
With the Wolves, Connelly has made bold yet impactful moves, most notably trading for Rudy Gobert during his first offseason with the team. Beyond this, trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick, (which became Joan Beringer), proved to be a beneficial move both for basketball and cap reasons.
At this year's trade deadline, Connelly pulled off arguably his most crafty move by trading Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round picks for Ayo Dosunmu, who has quickly established himself as a key part of Minnesota's success.
By all accounts, Connelly is one of the league's best executives, and retaining him is vital for the Wolves.
Regardless of how this season ends, the Wolves will have some difficult decisions to make this summer. Firstly, they'll have to re-sign Dosunmu, while also finding a way to stay under the second tax apron.
This could force Connelly to trade one of the Wolves' three expensive frontcourt players, but finding a way to make a trade that both saves money and benefits them basketball-wise will be tricky. Connelly has proven he can make unexpectedly brilliant moves, and they'll need him to work his magic again this summer.
Had the Wolves lost Connelly, they would have been in a tough spot this summer, especially since his right-hand man Matt Lloyd, appears to be on the verge of landing a job with the Chicago Bulls.
Ultimately, Wolves fans should be delighted that the Mavericks have hired Masai Ujiri and that Connelly is subsequently staying in Minnesota.
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