Northwest Notes: Connelly, Wolves, Lloyd, Gonzalez, Jazz
The Timberwolves are interested in extending the contract of president basketball operations Tim Connelly, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Scotto reported last week that Minnesota was hoping to sign Connelly to a new deal. His current contract will expire in 2027.
Connelly, a longtime Nuggets executive, was hired by the Timberwolves in 2022. Minnesota has made the Western Conference finals each of the past two years and advanced to the second round of this year’s playoffs last week when it eliminated Denver for the second time in three seasons.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch congratulated Bryson Graham — his former colleague in New Orleans — for landing the Bulls‘ head of operations job, but admits he was pulling for Wolves GM Matt Lloyd, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). “Congrats to Bryson Graham,” Finch said. “I worked with Bryson in New Orleans for a number of years. He’s a class act and an outstanding talent evaluator. I’m sure he will be a great pick for the Bulls. … Gunning for Matt. He’s one of the best executives I’ve ever worked with anywhere I’ve been. He’s an absolute rock star when it comes to that, from running processes to connecting with people in the building, to positivity to leadership, to being able to manage up and down. It’s only a matter of time until he gets his chance, I’m convinced of it. These are really hard jobs to get, highly coveted. Lots of things go into them. We’re fortunate to have him here and he’s been a huge part of our success.”
- The Jazz plan to add Ben Gonzalez to their front office, according to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link). Gonzalez is currently the director of basketball operations at the University of Georgia.
- Regardless of where their pick lands in next week’s draft lottery, Jazz fans have something to look forward to next season, since the team will no longer be prioritizing draft positioning, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.
Anthony Edwards Will Return For Game 1
8:04 pm: Edwards will indeed suit up on Monday, but he’ll come off the bench and be on a minutes restriction, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links).
2:03 pm: Edwards has gained medical clearance and is expected to play, Charania tweets.
12:40 pm: Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards is lobbying to play on Monday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Spurs, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.
Edwards was a significant participant in Timberwolves shootaround this morning, according to Charania. Edwards and the team’s medical staff will make a final decision on his status later today.
On Sunday, the team upgraded Edwards to questionable. The star guard missed the last two games of the Wolves’ series against the Nuggets after hyperextending his left knee and was initially considered week-to-week with the injury. He played just 18 minutes and made only one field goal in Game 4 of the series before sitting out.
Injuries limited Edwards to 61 games during the regular season, making him ineligible for postseason awards.
Suns Notes: Offseason, Free Agents, Rookies, Ishbia
Within his Suns offseason preview at the Third Apron (Substack link), Yossi Gozlan writes that Phoenix should “seriously consider” reconstructing its roster by trading its top players — including Devin Booker — to acquire draft picks.
As Gozlan explains, the Suns were one of the NBA’s most pleasant surprises in 2025/26, far exceeding external expectations by winning 45 games, ultimately advancing to the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. However, he thinks the current roster is “likely at its ceiling,” which is why he advocates for a teardown.
Despite being something of a feel-good story this season, the Suns still have a relatively bleak long-term outlook, according to Gozlan, because they have so few valuable assets and an unenviable cap situation. In no small part because of the dead money owed to Bradley Beal, Phoenix will have to dump salary to avoid the luxury tax just to try and re-sign some of its own free agents, a group that includes Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Mark Williams.
Gozlan acknowledges the team appears unlikely to trade Booker and other veterans like Dillon Brooks, but says there’s a good chance that both of those players’ values could be at high points right now, and moving off Booker’s salary in particular would create far more financial flexibility going forward.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- In a story breaking down each player’s role and contract situation ahead of 2026/27, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscription required) reports that the Suns and Gillespie are already discussing a new contract, and hears the 26-year-old point guard could sign a deal worth $40MM over four years. As for starting center Williams, who will be a restricted free agent if he’s given a $9.6MM qualifying offer, Rankin suggests he’s not a lock to return next season. For what it’s worth, Gozlan viewed Williams as a sign-and-trade candidate, pointing to the Bulls as a team that could make sense as a suitor.
- It will be an important offseason for Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea, who just finished their rookie campaigns, Rankin states in another article (subscriber link). Maluach could become Phoenix’s starting center next season if it decides not (or is unable to) retain Williams, while Fleming has a chance to become the starting power forward if he can improve some of his weaknesses, Rankin writes. As for Brea, who spent this season on a two-way deal, he’ll have to take significant strides forward if he wants to crack the rotation in ’26/27.
- In an exclusive interview with Rankin (subscription required), owner Mat Ishbia acknowledges other teams would like to sign the aforementioned free agent trio, but says the team would like to retain them and the feeling is mutual. He also stands behind the decision to trade Kevin Durant to Houston last year. “We knew we had to do it, to make the trade. We knew we were going to make the trade. What we had to do is make sure we got the right things that were aligned with our identity,” Ishbia told Rankin. “We look at it, we got four guys. We got Dillon (Brooks), Jalen (Green), Khaman (Maluach) and Rasheer (Fleming) because we used those picks to get the 31st pick (in the second round). Those players, could they all start next year, could they start the year after? Those are all four great players. So we feel great about what we did. … I think we did a very good job with it. You look at it now, it turned out to be a great trade for us. Not everyone said that the day we did it, but it turned out to be a fantastic trade for us and a huge part of our resetting our identity with those guys and building for the future as well.”
Five Questions About The NBA’s Lottery Reform Plan
Last Tuesday, word broke that the NBA had let its general managers know that a new draft lottery reform concept dubbed the "3-2-1 lottery" is the new clubhouse leader to be implemented in time for the 2027 draft. The highlights of the proposal are as follows:
- The lottery would expand from 14 to 16 teams, and all 16 picks would be drawn via the lottery.
- The bottom three teams by record would receive two lottery balls apiece (5.4% odds at the No. 1 overall pick) and could fall as low as 12th overall.
- The other seven non-playoff and non-play-in teams (fourth-worst through 10th-worst) would receive three lottery balls apiece (8.1% odds at the No. 1 pick).
- The teams who finish the regular season ranked ninth and 10th in each conference would receive two lottery balls apiece.
- The losers of the No. 7 vs. 8 play-in games would receive one lottery ball apiece (2.7% odds at the No. 1 pick).
- Teams would be prohibited from protecting traded picks in the 12-15 range.
- Teams would be prohibited from winning the No. 1 pick in back-to-back years and from winning top-five picks in three consecutive years.
- The plan would have a sunset provision, giving the NBA and its teams a chance to scrap it or reform it in 2029.
- The league would have increased latitude to impose penalties on teams believed to be tanking, including reducing that team's lottery odds or modifying its draft position.
Critics of the proposal - and there are many of them - have questioned whether the plan would actually fix tanking or whether it would just move it to a different part of the standings by providing incentives for borderline playoff teams to tank out of the play-in or into a lower play-in seed.
There was also a significant outcry about the fact that the proposal has the potential to hurt genuinely bad teams, who run the risk of repeatedly finishing in the bottom three of the league and not even getting a top-10 pick after a 17-win season, giving them few avenues to actually improve.
While I'm sympathetic to those concerns, I actually think there's a lot to like in the proposal, which could still be tweaked and must be approved by the NBA's Board of Governors before it's officially implemented. For one, I view it as a good thing that it no longer provides team a safe "floor."
Bulls Hire Bryson Graham As Head Of Basketball Operations
The Bulls have officially hired Bryson Graham to lead their basketball operations department, per a team press release. Graham’s title will be executive vice president of basketball operations.
“We’re excited to name Bryson Graham as our Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations,” Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “Bryson is an elite talent evaluator who has earned tremendous respect across the league, and that stood out immediately during our process. He has worked his way up through basketball operations from the ground level, and that experience has given him a deep understanding of how to build and sustain a successful organization.
“He is an effective communicator, a disciplined and thoughtful decision-maker, and someone who truly connects with players and people. He understands today’s league, today’s players, and what it takes to develop talent and build a winning culture. Just as important, Bryson is committed to building a high-level group around him. He knows what he does well, and he is focused on surrounding that with strong leadership across strategy, scouting, and player development. This is an important step for our organization. We know there is work ahead, but we are confident in Bryson’s ability to lead, build, and move us forward.
The news was first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).
Graham was the Hawks‘ senior VP of basketball operations for the 2025/26 season. He spent 15 years in New Orleans before that, Charania notes, working his way up the ranks from an intern to general manager.
The 39-year-old was GM for the Pelicans under former top executive David Griffin until the end of last season, when Griffin was fired and replaced by Joe Dumars. Graham is highly regarded around the league for his scouting acumen, Charania writes, which will be important for the rebuilding Bulls.
While Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd had been reported by some outlets as the frontrunner for the top front office job in Chicago, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported over the weekend that Graham, Pistons senior vice president Dennis Lindsey, and Celtics assistant GM Dave Lewin were still in contention for the position as well.
According to Charania, the Bulls conducted in-person interviews last week and considered Graham, Lloyd and Lindsey over the weekend before selecting Graham on Monday.
K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network says (via Twitter) there were four finalists, and hears all of them interviewed well. However, Graham was the unanimous pick, Johnson reports.
In a full story for ESPN.com, Charania and Jamal Collier report that Graham (in his executive role with Atlanta) helped facilitate trade talks between the Hawks and Pelicans last summer, when New Orleans moved up from No. 23 to No. 13 to select Maryland big man Derik Queen. The 2026 first-rounder the Pelicans sent the Hawks is unprotected and will be the most favorable of the Pels’ and Bucks’ picks.
Trey Murphy III (No. 17 overall), Herbert Jones (No. 35), Dyson Daniels (No. 8) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17) are among the players Graham has been credited for drafting, in addition to his work on trades.
Graham will replace former head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, who was fired near the end of the regular season alongside ex-GM Marc Eversley.
Wolves’ Ayo Dosunmu Out For Monday’s Game 1
Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu has been downgraded from questionable to out for Monday’s Game 1 matchup in San Antonio, the team announced (via Twitter).
Dosunmu, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then, is dealing with right calf soreness. It’s the same injury which caused Dosunmu to miss Game 6 of Minnesota’s first-round series against Denver.
The 26-year-old had huge series against the Nuggets, leading the Wolves in scoring at 21.8 points per game, with a scorching hot shooting line of .609/.545/.950. He also contributed 4.0 APG and 2.8 RPG in 32.4 MPG across five appearances.
A former second-round pick (38th overall in 2021), Dosunmu spent his first four-and-a-half seasons in Chicago, his hometown team. The Wolves traded for the former Illinois star ahead of the February deadline.
Minnesota will be shorthanded in the backcourt tonight, as Donte DiVincenzo tore his right Achilles tendon in the first round and will be sidelined indefinitely. On a brighter note, star guard Anthony Edwards will reportedly be available after hyperextending his left knee on April 25.
Pistons Sign J.B. Bickerstaff To Contract Extension
The Pistons have signed head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to a contract extension, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
Bickerstaff has led Detroit to a remarkable turnaround over the past two seasons. After finishing with the worst record (14-68) in the NBA in 2023/24, the Pistons improved by 30 wins in Bickerstaff’s first year at the helm, going 44-38 and making the playoffs.
The Pistons continued their upward trajectory in ’25/26, finishing with a 60-22 record, the top mark in the Eastern Conference. Detroit survived a first-round scare against No. 8 Orlando, falling in a 3-1 hole before winning the final three games to advance to the second round.
Bickerstaff, 47, reportedly signed a five-year contract when he was hired in July 2024, with the first four seasons being guaranteed. It’s unclear how many extra years his extension will cover.
It’s interesting timing that the Pistons decided to extend Bickerstaff on the same day that the Magic dismissed Jamahl Mosley. Bickerstaff defended his friend and said he disagreed with the Magic’s decision in an appearance on Stephen A. Smith’s radio show, as Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire relays (via Twitter).
Bickerstaff, who took over as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association earlier this season, is a finalist for the Coach of the Year award. The other finalists are Joe Mazzulla (Celtics) and Mitch Johnson (Spurs).
Bickerstaff, who started his NBA coaching career as an assistant, head previous head coaching stops in Memphis, Houston and Cleveland prior to joining Detroit.
The Pistons will face the Cavaliers, Bickerstaff’s former club, in the Eastern semifinals.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 5/4/2026
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 3:00 pm Central time (4:00 pm Eastern).
Cavs Notes: Allen, Harden, Mitchell, Flaws, Bickerstaff
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen muffled some of his critics with his performance in Game 7 on Sunday. Allen erupted for 22 points and 19 rebounds as the Cavs closed out the Raptors.
“I always feel like in this league when you get a certain label, it always sticks with you no matter what,” Allen told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “No matter how hard you try to change it, it’s always going to follow you around. I think that if I play on my mind with wanting to change a narrative that was placed on me about prior performances, that’s going to weaken my strengths going forward and always try to weigh me back. I’ve always been the guy that just moved forward. Things happened in the past that go my way, that don’t go my way and that’s just part of playing basketball, being at the professional level. Just be my best going forward.”
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said it was Allen’s best performance that he’s witnessed.
“Really took us over the top,” Atkinson said. “Best I’ve seen him. Coached him a long time. Known him for lots — that’s the best I’ve seen him.”
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Allen’s outing allowed Cleveland to survive despite relatively modest outings from James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, ESPN’s Jamal Collier notes. Mitchell finished with 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting, and Harden had 18 points on 3-of-9 shooting. “[Harden] and I individually have had big nights,” Mitchell said. “We’ve had 50-balls, we’ve had bad nights, but at the end of the day, we haven’t won. We’re going to continue to be ourselves, right? But in the same focus, it isn’t just about me and him. It’s [Allen], it’s Evan Mobley] … It’s everybody in that locker room.”
- Joe Vardon of The Athletic opines that the first-round series showed the Cavs’ flaws, which could lead to their elimination in the next round against the top-seeded Pistons. “(It showed) that they are vulnerable,” Vardon writes in an Athletic roundtable discussion. “Extremely vulnerable to ball pressure, to length on the wings, to teams that are willing to grab and claw and get into their chests. I think any playoff team that challenges Cleveland physically has a chance to advance. This is simply not an organization built to bang. But if you give the Cavs space, you see the offensive juggernaut they can be. Oh, we also saw when the Cavs bother to look inside, to Allen and to Evan Mobley, it opens up the rest of the offense.”
- They will be going up against their former coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, which will make for a juice storyline, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic notes. Bickerstaff will know how to guard Mitchell as well as any coach in the league, Lloyd adds, and the Cavs need the best version of Mitchell and Harden to advance.
Pistons Notes: Harris, Playoff Experience, Duren, Cunningham
A free agent after the season, Tobias Harris has shown the NBA world he still has plenty left in the tank. The Pistons forward averaged 21.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game during the first-round series against Orlando, including 30 points in the decisive Game 7 on Sunday.
“Nobody can say (bleep) to me about Tobias Harris,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I mean, he is dependable, reliable (and) prepared for the moment. He’s a leader, he’s a great teammate, (and) he’s a great human being. He’s a high-level competitor. To show up tonight and do what he did when it was on the line the most, it’s just exceptional. I can come up with more adjectives if you want, but I think you get my drift.”
Teammates have enormous respect for the 33-year-old Harris, who has been instrumental in the franchise’s resurgence over the last two seasons.
“He’s the ultimate vet,” center Jalen Duren said. “He’s been in these types of games. He’s got a lot of playoff experience. You know, I think J.B. calls him his safety blanket or whatever, but I think he’s the safety blanket for the team. He’s a guy we can go to when we need a bucket. He’s just the ultimate vet, man. He’s just been that for us all season, so it’s nothing new.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Harris said the team will benefit from the hard-fought first-round series heading into the conference semifinals against the Cavaliers. “One hundred percent [there are positives]. I said after the game that every series we learn,” Harris said. “We learn about ourselves as a group. It’s the playoffs. In my playoff experience, playoffs will put your team in a bunch of things you’re good at, and things that you have to get better at. We did a great job at just adjusting, figuring out ways to win games. Some of the [problems] were self-inflicted, but at the same time, we stayed composed and were able to understand the performances that we needed to win these games.”
- Duren had his best game of the series on Sunday. The fourth-year center, headed to restricted free agency this summer, racked up 15 points and 15 rebounds while anchoring the defense. “I know who I am, I know who the team is,” he said. “Outside noise is whatever it is. In our locker room we know who we are – as a team, as a group, as an organization. We don’t take this ‘dawg’ s–t lightly. We really feel like we’re dawgs. We feel like when our back is against the wall, the whole world counts us out, that now it’s time to go. Now it’s time to keep swinging. I never doubted anything. I never doubted the guys that I was going to war with. I never doubted the coaches. Never. Let’s keep going, let’s keep proving the world wrong.”
- Cade Cunningham posted averages of 32.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists during the series. Cunningham, who suffered a collapsed lung late in the regular season, complimented the Magic for forcing his team to overcome adversity. “Playoff basketball is a lot of fun,” he said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “So intense, so much on the line. They pushed us, really made us take a look in the mirror. I think we got a lot better from this series. Learned a lot about myself, a lot about the team. This series really is going to set us up for our next series. We’ll be a lot better for it.”