Tim Connelly is sprinkling some gold on Timberwolves
The architect of the Denver champions has reshaped Minnesota, to the point it can dream of winning the West.
When it comes to the state of Minnesota and the sport of basketball, the wrecked relationships would leave Taylor Swift speechless. The Lakers, of course, left in 1960, after coach John Kundla won four championships and still couldn’t get named on any historical coach’s list. Players like Chet Holmgren, Jalen Suggs, Tyus and Tre Jones, Paige Bueckers and Khalid el-Amin all found varying degrees of glory after they left their native state.
In 1989 the NBA granted Minnesota a new NBA franchise. Five years later, thanks to problems with the Target Center mortgage, the Timberwolves were sold in principle to a group seeking a team in New Orleans. Glen Taylor, a former state senator who became the richest person in Minnesota through his printing business, saved the day when he bought the Timberwolves. Still, the proposed Timberwolves’ move wasn’t nearly as outrageous as the North Stars’ move to Dallas in 1993. Minnesota had a 13-year stretch of no playoff appearances, and even the prime years of Kevin Garrett could only get the Timberwolves to the conference finals (2004).
A look at their drafting history showed why. In 2009 they had the fifth and sixth picks. They took Ricky Rubio (not bad) and Jonny Flynn (pretty bad), thus giving the Warriors the chance to get Steph Curry at 7 (real good). In 2015 Minnesota took Kris Dunn with the fifth pick and watched Jamal Murray and Domantas Sabonis drift away at No. 9 and No. 11.
In 2013 Minnesota had the ninth pick and took Trey Burke,, but he was just a placeholder. They had a deal to trade that choice to Utah for the 14th pick, where they took Shabazz Muhammad, an impossibly hyped-up freshman from UCLA who, at 31, played briefly in the G-League this season. The 15th pick was Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Sure, you can cherry-pick anybody’s drafts, but Minnesota’s mistakes never seemed to dissipate, like a snowbank that lasts from December to April.
So you might expect Minnesota fans to distrust this unlikely season. Instead they’re back on the bus. The Timberwolves won 56 games and are third in the Western Conference. They have the best defense in the league. They have 22-year-old Anthony Edwards, one of the most engaging and spectacular players alive. They have Karl-Anthony Towns, a first-overall pick like Edwards, who won the 3-point shooting contest at the 2022 All-Star Game even though he’s a 7-footer. They have Rudy Gobert, the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year who has salvaged a career that seemed drained 12 months ago, and they have 36-year-old point guard Mike Conley, the adult in every room he’s entered.
If the chalk holds up, Minnesota will play Denver, the defending champs, in the Western semifinals. That’s not guaranteed, since the Timberwolves have to deal with Phoenix and Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in the first round. But if it materializes, Tim Connelly will feel like he’s playing solitaire. He’s the president of the Timberwolves, and before that he spent nine years making the personnel calls for the Nuggets. Upward mobility in the NBA requires ropes, harnesses and crampons. Falling is a lot quicker than climbing. But Connelly’s moves have lifted two franchises out of the compost. Both can win for a while.
Connelly will also run into Jusuf Nurkic, the Phoenix center who is seventh in the league in rebounding. Connelly had Nurkic in Denver but dealt him to Portland for Mason Plumlee, primarily to get more minutes for a second-round pick from Sombor, Serbia who was just weaning himself off a gallon-a-day Coca-Cola habit. Nikola Jokic was the centerpiece, but Connelly drafted Murray and Michael Porter, traded Gary Harris and R.J. Hampton to Orlando to get freaky power forward Alex Gordon and, for that matter, hired coach Michael Malone.
Yes, Connelly had some hiccups, like drafting Emmanuel Mudiay instead of Booker in the first round, and there was a report that Malone had to talk him out of trading Murray a couple of years ago. When the Timberwolves came after Connelly and offered him a promotion, Denver didn’t match.
Towns and Edwards were on hand when Connelly arrived. The locals blinked repeatedly when Connelly sent Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Walker Kessler and four first-round picks, plus a first-round pick swap in 2026, for Gobert. Last season Gobert’s back acted up, Towns only played 29 games, the two played like strangers when they were together, and Minnesota barely made the playoffs. But they did give Denver an argumentative five-game series.
By then they had dealt DeAngelo Russell and picked up Conley. Naz Reid shot 41 percent from the 3-point line this season and became one of the best bench players in the league, at least until Towns got hurt and Reid got starter’s minutes. Jaden McDaniels is the frontcourt stopper, and Kyle Anderson is 6-foot-9 with point guard instincts. It’s a long, imposing cast of session musicians with a wide reach, and it knows Towns and Edwards deserve the microphone.
Towns missed 18 games with a meniscus tear but came back in time to get comfortable for the playoffs. “That’s like 25 points a game walking back into the gym,” Edwards said. Ky Edwards was already bringing 25.9 points, in a year when he cut down on the 3-pointers and got to the foul line more often. He also said that the Timberwolves’ 0-3 regular season against Phoenix wouldn’t matter in this series. Hey, he’s 22. Don’t expect him to know bulletin boards or press clippings.
Connelly is one of four brothers who make a living from basketball, either in the NBA or in private player evaluation. He grew up in Baltimore, went to Fordham and then Catholic University, and squeezed his way into the NBA by writing letters to general managers. Real letters, with stamps and all that. Chuck Douglas, the scouting director at Washington, wrote him back and gave him an intern job. It wasn’t much of a risk, since Connelly wasn’t paid. But after three years he became scouting director, and the escalator began moving.
Boldness and serendipity have propelled both of Connelly’s teams. The Timberwolves have more experience than Oklahoma City and more depth than Denver. They could also leave the playoffs immediately if Towns and Edwards aren’t great. But they’re worth a look. By now the fates should forgive them, especially since Jonny Flynn and Kris Dunn and Shabazz Muhammad weren’t Tim Connelly’s sins.
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Looking back and ahead:
Most Valuable Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City. Led the league in steals and 2-point percentage, put up 30 points a game, took the Thunder to the top seed in the West with a lineup that was barely older than North Carolina’s.
Coach of the Year: Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City.
Rookie of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio. Led the league in blocked shots and got more amazing with each week.
Defensive Player of the Year: Wembanyama. He had the best block percentage and fourth-best defensive rebounding percentage.
Most Improved: Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia. He averaged 25.9 points and had to carry the mail when Joel Embiid was out.
Comeback Player: Zion Williamson, New Orleans. He played only 29 games the past two seasons but checked in with 22.9 points a game this season.
Sixth Man: Malik Monk, Sacramento. Never started a game, got 15.6 points while he averaged 26 minutes.
Special Recognition: Josh Hart of the Knicks is 6-foot-4 and reached double-figures in rebounds 30 times. DeMar DeRozan of the Bulls is 34 and led the league in minutes played with 37.8 per game. Anthony Davis of the Lakers was the only player who averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds. Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks came closest to reaching the 50-40-90 shooter’s club, hitting 49.7 percent from the floor, 41.1 percent from 3-point and 90.5 from the foul line. LeBron James, at 39, was 15th in average minutes played (35.3).
Playoff predictions:
EAST
Boston over Chicago or Miami, 4-0.
Cleveland over Orlando, 4-2.
Indiana over Milwaukee, 4-2.
New York over Philadelphia, 4-3.
Boston over Cleveland, 4-0.
New York over Indiana, 4-2.
Boston over New York, 4-1.
WEST
Oklahoma City over New Orleans or Sacramento, 4-2.
Dallas over LA Clippers, 4-1.
Minnesota over Phoenix, 4-3.
Denver over LA Lakers, 4-2.
Dallas over Oklahoma City, 4-3.
Minnesota over Denver, 4-3.
Minnesota over Dallas, 4-2.
FINALS
Boston over Minnesota, 4-1.