r/timberwolves • u/TheAthletic • 22h ago
Interview [Kraw] Tim Connelly’s aggression as a risk-taker fuels new ambition with the Timberwolves
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7685060/2026/10/14/nba-timberwolves-tim-connelly-motivation-players/?unlocked_article_code=1.IlE.KCmg.Cx_vSSAZ4acL&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-taMINNEAPOLIS — A familiar pattern has emerged over the last five years in the constantly churning NBA rumor mill.
A high-profile player becomes available, either because he is unhappy with his current situation or his team is shifting away from its current roster construction. What follows is a list of teams that have interest in acquiring him. Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, LaMelo Ball.
Invariably, the Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the teams mentioned.
Ever since Tim Connelly left the Denver Nuggets to run the Timberwolves’ front office in 2022, he has feverishly remade the roster in a constant pursuit of the championship he left behind in Denver. Be it making offers that didn’t go through or taking deals all the way to fruition, no executive has been more active as he tries to build a winner around Anthony Edwards.
Some have worked. Others have not. In an industry often plagued by rabbit ears and thin skin, Connelly, the Wolves’ president of basketball operations, has made one polarizing move after another with no regard to social media analysis or fear for his long-term job security.
“If it doesn’t work and it’s my job, I’ll get fired,” he said. “That’s fine. But I don’t ever want to be in a position where we’re reluctant to take big swings.”
Connelly likes to joke that his unflappable outlook is fueled by Irish Catholic guilt. While he has yet to win a title, the position, compensation and lifestyle the job has provided have already far exceeded anything he could have dreamed of growing up in Baltimore as the second-oldest of five boys in a tight-knit family.
With that peace of mind, and having learned in his old stomping grounds that worrying about what outsiders think about his decision-making is just an invitation for trouble, Connelly has instilled a once-languishing organization with a win-at-all-costs ethos that has almost never been seen in Minnesota.
“His brain is just constantly working,” Wolves general manager Matt Lloyd said. “He’s constantly trying to find the next advantage. He’s trying to message the players. There’s just no other word for it than exhilarating.”
This summer, following a second-round loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Connelly got busy. He traded Julius Randle and Naz Reid, acquired Ball and signed Jonathan Kuminga to give the Timberwolves an entirely different look as they try to challenge the Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder atop the Western Conference.
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u/DifficultDust0 22h ago
Connelly is obviously great at what he does, but I'm starting to realize that what separates a good gm (or president of basketball ops) from a great one is the owner's willingness to spend and plans for the team. I think a lot of GMs end up looking terrible because of the plans of the owners, that's why Connelly has been careful about who he works for.
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u/Busy_Project_7229 11h ago
Nah fr say what you will about ownership but these dudes clearly don’t mind spending the $ if it yields results
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u/greenslam 19h ago
Really liked this extra portion about Connelly using Finch as a sounding board. I am glad that Connelly kills ideas that Finch isnt keen on.
Coach Chris Finch can always tell when Connelly has something cooking. He will come into Finch’s office with a pep in his step.
“You can see as the juices start flowing,” Finch said.
He runs the idea by Finch, and the two talk about what it would look like. He knows that if Finch doesn’t believe in it, the move has no chance of working.
“I usually jump on board just because they are great ideas, well thought out, and I can see them in play,” Finch said. “I also trust him implicitly that most of the things that he sees and wants are things that I’m pretty aligned with, too."
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u/raki016 22h ago
I think it’s important to note that TC is aggressive because ownership is aggressive and wants to field a continuously winning team.
And rightfully so when you have Ant.
I just can’t see any other approaches being better when a star is already here (vs SAS and OKC who had to draft/develop their stars)