Nuggets president Tim Connelly faces several important decisions if he winds up running the Timberwolves, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Connelly is meeting with Wolves owner Glen Taylor this weekend, and the two sides appear to be getting close to a deal, per Hine.
Minnesota gave Chris Finch a four-year extension in March, so the coaching situation is stable. Connelly has experience working with Finch, who served as a Denver assistant in 2016/17. Things are less clear regarding the front office, which has been run by Sachin Gupta since Gersson Rosas was fired in September. Gupta recently made an important personnel move, hiring Steve Senior as assistant general manager.
As for the roster, Karl-Anthony Towns will be eligible for a super-max extension this offseason if the star center is voted onto an All-NBA team, Hine notes. Connelly would also have to determine whether to pursue extension talks with D’Angelo Russell, who is entering a contract year, and would be searching for ways to improve the roster to build on this year’s playoff appearance.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- If Connelly joins the Timberwolves, he might bring a big-name executive from another organization with him, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Taylor isn’t expected to stand in the way of the rumored move, which is supported by incoming owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez.
- The Nuggets‘ lack of urgency to keep Connelly should make Nikola Jokic think twice about committing to the organization, argues Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. Kiszla accuses Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns the team, of treating everyone like they can be replaced, even Connelly, who built a potential title contender and was responsible for drafting Jokic in the second round. Connelly was upset that the Nuggets failed to offer him a long-term deal during the season, according to Kiszla, and that decision could cost the team one of its most valuable assets.
- The Trail Blazers may target Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and Cody Martin in free agency, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Both players will be restricted free agents, so the Hornets could match any offer that Portland (or another team) makes.
Begley link went nowhere, but it probably would anyway, info-wise, even if it worked.
Step 1. Trade D’Lo to improve the roster.
What deal could possibly make the roster better?
Buy low candidates are MPJ and Ben Simmons. High risk, high reward.
Rozier is a better overall player and available and cheaper.
Minny has a “iron” year to figure this all out financially; ** if they are going to go over the tax (which OFC they def should or why are we even here)
About 14 months to figure it all out- 1 max(ish) slot wedged in-between Towns and Edwards raise
Now I doubt Dlo being that guy as the article eludes…highly highly doubt ….but who is that SLOT?!?
Hard to attract free agents in Minny so it’s probably a trade or S& T at some point
. DLo’s expring 30 mill is the match most likely at some point here
Ive speculated Randle could thrive there; tho it comes with a little risk.
He can probably be had too but Minny might want to aim higher…it’s a huge call but an envious position to be in thanks to Edwards. This is kinda like the Tobias Harris situation, didn’t turn out terrible but they’ll want better. Im interested to see how the go into 2024 on the roster
I’m hoping we can pull a deal for John Collins centered on Beasley and some picks. Long shot, but that’s my hope.
Collins would be an awesome fit. Ive thought about him as well just tough to line up a trade between the 2
ATL isn’t really looking for cap or future picks
Maybe a 3 team trade – Dlo (and maybe a pick) to 3rd team that provides ATL the pieces they desire for Collins but yea love that fit
Hine link: “Russell is entering the final year of his contract and will be looking for an extension”
Hine is a local reporter who needs regular quotes from Russell, so he has to be mentioned. He did nott suggest Russell be extended at current salary…
IMO which has always been overpaid.
There’s mistakes that could happen here; replacing Gupta with a Donnelly group at much expense or a messy owner transition.
The Russell-Towns-Wiggins core has always had a problem that Jimmy Butler (on the cheap) could not fix.
MIN has been following a DEN model for several years now, so MIN poaching their POBO fits. Indeed it supports my theory of occasional followership. But MIN may have surpassed them already!— (except for DEN having Jokic).
Russell-Towns-Wiggins?
Russell was just more of the same— Personal goals prevail.
they never played together so I dont get it either.
Nobody ever accused the Kroenkes of being cheap. If DEN doesn’t want to match some ridiculous MIN offer for Connelly, then maybe there’s a reason. The drafts that built the current team were run by AK when he was there, and, in particular, it was him who identified Jokic. Has DEN’s personnel decisions outside of those drafts been good? I don’t think so. Certainly not good enough to break the bank for him.
While MIN is undergoing an ownership transition, I’m hard pressed to see why that requires a star (name) executive be in place. The team’s roster should be fairly stable at the top (Towns and Edwards) in that period.
Don’t believe in Russ as an impact player. They should move him while they have a chance. Give him back to Lakers and get their #1 pick with Westbrook. It could pay big. And he comes off books in a yr.