Nuggets president Tim Connelly has agreed to a deal with the Timberwolves that will make him one of the league’s highest-compensated executives, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Connelly will leave Denver and sign a five-year, $40 million contract with Minnesota. The deal also includes ownership equity, a benefit that only a few NBA executives have received, according to Wojnarowski.
Connelly is regarded as one of the best executives in the NBA, particularly when it comes to talent evaluation. He was instrumental in drafting two-time MVP Nikola Jokić with the 41st pick of the 2014 NBA draft and has built a strong relationship with the 27-year-old Serbian center.
Additionally, Denver has grown into a regular competitor in the Western Conference under Connelly’s front office leadership. After missing the postseason from 2014 through 2018, the Nuggets have made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, which included a trip to the Western Conference finals in 2020.
Connelly becomes the second consecutive top basketball executive to leave the Nuggets for another NBA franchise in the last decade. He previously took on the role in 2013, when Masai Ujiri left the Nuggets for the Raptors.
In Minnesota, Connelly will join a franchise seemingly on an upward trajectory. The Timberwolves reached the playoffs for just the second time in the last 18 years this season, losing to the Grizzlies in six games in a competitive first-round series.
Minnesota, which is poised to undergo an ownership change in 2023, boasts a talented young core, led by 2020 No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. With Connelly now set to run the show, the Wolves could be among the perennial Western Conference contenders for years to come.
