Wolves’ Connelly Discusses Offseason, Finch, Dosunmu, More
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at his end-of-season press conference, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly repeatedly stated that there was “more good than bad” for the franchise in 2025/26, but made it clear he wasn’t satisfied with a season that ended with a second-round playoff exit, per Dave Campbell of The Associated Press.
“We have a lot of confidence in our guys, but it would be disingenuous to sit in front of this group and say we’re happy with the sixth seed, we’re happy with not being a home-court playoff team, we’re happy that our last three closeout games have been lopsided,” Connelly said. “We have to be realistic about what we have, which is way more good than bad, but we know that we’re not good enough right now.”
During his exit interview over the weekend, Timberwolves forward Naz Reid suggested to reporters that “moodiness” was an issue for the team, and Connelly stressed on Tuesday that consistency and “emotional maturity” will be a priority going forward, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes.
“There’s too many nights when we were not as locked in as we should be, and that’s unacceptable, plain and simple,” Connelly said.
Connelly, who surrendered a massive package for Rudy Gobert during his first year on the job in Minnesota, has a well-earned reputation for being willing to take big swings on the trade market. While he declined to get into specifics about what sort of moves he might be looking to make this summer, he vowed to be “as aggressive as possible” and said the front office wouldn’t be afraid to “mess up loudly,” according to Campbell.
“I’d rather get fired for trying than sit here and just do the job in survival mode,” Connelly said, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “So risky, I think, is if you’re a championship-level team and make a huge trade. I don’t know what level of risk there is when you’re bounced in the second round. I think we’re open to it. Certainly, we’re not driven by it.”
Here’s more from Connelly’s presser:
- Connelly lauded head coach Chris Finch for the job he did with the Timberwolves this season, especially in the first round of the playoffs, Krawczynski notes. “It’s not an easy job,” the Timberwolves’ president said. “He was masterful, I think, in the Denver series. We’re not here without Finchy. The playoff success we’ve had. I’m just thankful that he’s a partner and thankful that he’s our head coach.”
- Getting a new deal done with unrestricted free agent guard Ayo Dosunmu will be a priority for the Timberwolves, according to Connelly. “Ayo’s our most important free agent,” he said, per Hine. “He’s a guy we thought we knew pretty well, and we liked him from afar. Now seeing him day to day, we love him. I think he fits in not just on the court but off the court. I think his best basketball is in front of him.”
- As Campbell relays, Connelly acknowledged that the Wolves will need to add more shooting to their roster with Donte DiVincenzo expected to be sidelined for most or all of next season after tearing his Achilles last month. There’s still no specific timeline for DiVincenzo’s return. “We think he’s going to be back,” Connelly said. “We don’t know when.”
- 2025 first-round pick Joan Beringer didn’t have a major role as a rookie, but the Timberwolves are excited about what he can bring to the table going forward, according to Hine. “We think his future is unbelievably bright,” Connelly said. “I would think he’ll be a multi-position defender. He’s a guy that has the complete faith and buy-in of not just our coaching staff, but, most importantly, the other players on the team believe in him. So, we think he’s going to be a really impactful piece moving forward.”
- Rumors earlier in the spring indicated that Connelly was one of Dallas’ front office targets but that he would likely sign an extension with the Timberwolves. Although he didn’t address the possibility of a new deal on Tuesday, Connelly expressed no desire to leave Minnesota, writes Krawczynski. “I go to work happy every day, got great partners,” the veteran exec said. “It’s been awesome. Just keep trying to get better. At some point, we want to have this press conference after a (championship) parade … But it’s a great place to work. I just want to get better. It’s unfair to sit up here and be critical of players and how can we add. I need to do a better job for this organization.”
Sixers Notes: Myers, Front Office, George, Offseason
When he was originally hired by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the sense was that Bob Myers wouldn’t focus specifically on the Sixers and wouldn’t have a major voice in the team’s basketball operations decisions. Myers’ new position required him to be involved with the company’s other sports holdings, including the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and Crystal Palace F.C. in the Premier League, and seemed to focus more on big-picture business decisions rather than day-to-day basketball moves.
Still, the remarks that he and Sixers managing partner Josh Harris made at last week’s press conference in the wake of Daryl Morey‘s dismissal strongly suggested that Myers’ influence in the 76ers’ basketball operations department is increasing, according to Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required), who got the sense that Morey’s replacement might end up being more of a “figurehead” while Myers takes on more responsibilities. Is that actually the case?
“Josh desperately wants Bob to run the team,” one source told Hayes. “Bob desperately does not want to run the team.”
Hayes adds that a team source disputed the idea that Harris is “desperate” for Myers to run the Sixers’ front office.
Either way, Hayes writes, Myers isn’t working out of Philadelphia and has no plans to do so; he also continues to oversee the progress of Harris Blitzer’s other teams. With that in mind, Hayes argues that it’s imperative for the 76ers to hire a “capable, autonomous” executive rather than one who will have to frequently defer to Myers on day-to-day decisions.
We have more on the Sixers:
- Paul George was limited to 37 regular season appearances in 2025/26 due to injuries and a 25-game suspension, but he’s healthy entering the offseason and is looking forward to taking advantage of that fact by embarking on a “real summer of improving,” writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). “It’s been stagnant the last couple years because of a surgery here or a surgery there,” George said. “… So this summer should be a better summer, in terms of working on my game.”
- Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews the Sixers’ upcoming offseason, considering whether trading Joel Embiid and/or George this offseason is viable and evaluating what new contracts for several of the team’s key free agents might look like. Gozlan has Kelly Oubre Jr. in the range of $9-10MM per year and wonders if Philadelphia might be able to re-sign Andre Drummond on a minimum-salary deal.
- Would it make any sense for the Sixers to trade Tyrese Maxey and build around VJ Edgecombe, with an eye toward contending again with a younger group after the George and Embiid contracts expire? Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice weighs the merits of the idea but ultimately concludes it’s not realistic.
Jerry Stackhouse Among Bulls’ Head Coaching Candidates
Veteran NBA assistant Jerry Stackhouse has emerged as one of the candidates receiving consideration from the Bulls for their head coaching vacancy, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
An NBA player for 18 seasons from 1995-2013, Stackhouse transitioned into coaching following his retirement. He has been an assistant for the Raptors (2015-16), Grizzlies (2018-19), and Warriors (2024-26) and also head coaching stints with the Raptors 905 (2016-18) and Vanderbilt University (2019-24).
Reporting last week indicated that Stackhouse’s contract with Golden State had expired and that he wouldn’t be returning to the team, as he was “actively” seeking a head coaching position.
Stackhouse has been linked to multiple NBA head coaching searches in past years. He reportedly interviewed with the Hornets in 2024 before they hired Charles Lee and was connected to the Pistons and Raptors when they were seeking new coaches during the 2023 offseason.
Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney, Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr., former Pelicans coach James Borrego, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Thunder assistant Dave Bliss, Hornets assistant Lamar Skeeter, and Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt have also been cited as candidates for the Bulls as they survey the market following their split with Billy Donovan.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Anunoby, Shamet, Robinson, Dolan
The Knicks‘ usage of Karl-Anthony Towns as a point center in the seven games leading up to Tuesday’s game vs. Cleveland resulted in a 130.5 offensive rating, but the plan hit a snag in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The Cavaliers‘ talented frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen did a better job of neutralizing Towns, who scored just 13 points on 14 shots and had five assists, his lowest single-game total since head coach Mike Brown tweaked the Knicks’ offensive game plan.
“We do feel like we have the personnel to bother him. We’ve got multiple guys who can put pressure on him,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We’ve gotta be really good with our off-ball defense. They’ve definitely shifted schematically like everybody knows. It’s been … it’s high level so it’s going to be a big part of the series.”
Ultimately though, slowing down Towns wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers to pull off the Game 1 upset and take the lead in the series, as Jalen Brunson led a historic fourth-quarter comeback that resulted in an overtime win. According to the NBA (Twitter link), New York’s 22-point comeback in the fourth quarter was the largest in a conference final game since 1997 and the second-largest in any playoff game during that same span. That outcome left Towns satisfied after the game despite his modest showing.
“I think the Knicks found a way to win tonight, and that’s all that matters,” he said, per Braziller. “It’s not about the individual performances, it’s about this team finding a way to put up a win on the board. I think that’s what’s special.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Knicks forward OG Anunoby acknowledged he had some rust to shake off in his first game back following a hamstring injury, but he finished the game strong, as Howie Kussoy writes for The New York Post. After recording four points and two rebounds in his first 29 minutes of action during regulation, Anunoby helped the Knicks seal the victory with nine points and three boards in overtime. “I felt good,” Anunoby said. “Just continue to play hard, shoot shots and be aggressive. … I don’t think it was hesitancy [early]. Just as the game went on I felt more and more like myself.”
- Even with Anunoby back, Landry Shamet ended up playing a key role for the Knicks, logging 14 of his 17 minutes in the fourth quarter and overtime and making a trio of crucial three-pointers, including one that tied the game during the final minute of regulation, writes Braziller of The New York Post. “He played big time. That’s just who he is. He’s a true professional, ever since he walked into the league,” Brunson said of the minimum-salary vet. “He’s up to any task you put in front of him. He’s been that player, he’s been that player for us. We have utmost faith in him.”
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson had some success against Cleveland in the first half of Game 1, but he was played off the floor in the second half when the Cavaliers began intentionally fouling him, notes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Robinson went 2-of-8 from the free throw line and the Knicks were outscored by seven points during his four minutes on the court in the third quarter. “Mitch has been great for us the last few games in that situation,” Brown said. “We’re gonna continue to give him a chance. We’ll move him around and do some different things with him. Mitch can impact the game in different ways, so we need him on the floor.”
- Knicks owner James Dolan and Madison Square Garden Sports have taken the next step toward splitting the Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers into separate entities. Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico has the details.
And-Ones: Cofie, Awards, Draft Assets, Cuban
After testing the draft waters this spring as an early entrant, USC sophomore Jacob Cofie has decided to withdraw his name and return to the Trojans for his junior year, agent Aman Dhesi tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link).
A 6’10” power forward, Cofie performed well during the pre-draft process, standing out during the G League combine earlier this month and earning an invitation to the full-fledged combine as a result. However, he was always considered a long shot to be drafted, ranking 99th on ESPN’s big board.
As Givony notes, Cofie will be hoping the momentum from his strong combine showings carries over to the 2026/27 season. As a sophomore in ’25/26, he averaged 9.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 30.5 minutes per game across 32 outings (all starts) for USC. The 20-year-old made just 51.0% of his shots from the floor, but just 31.8% of his three-pointers and 60.5% of his free throws.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The NBA will resume announcing its 2025/26 award winners beginning on Wednesday evening, the league confirmed today (Twitter link). The All-Rookie teams will be revealed during Peacock’s pregame show tonight, with the All-Defensive teams (Friday), All-NBA teams (Sunday), and Coach of the Year (next Tuesday) to follow in the coming days.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks places the NBA’s 30 teams into seven tiers based on the current and future draft assets they control, with the Nets, Hornets, Grizzlies, Thunder, Spurs, Jazz, and Wizards making up his top group. The Nuggets are on their own in tier seven, since they’re the only team without the ability to trade a future first-rounder (they can technically move this year’s No. 26 pick after making a selection).
- Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban has no plans to invest in an NBA Europe team, as Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports details. Referring to the prospect of launching a basketball club tied to an established soccer brand as a potential “hornet’s nest,” Cuban said the NBA’s reported buy-in price ($500MM to $1 billion) is more than he can justify spending. “I can buy a team in a smaller league, win that country’s league and work my way up,” he said.
Pacers’ Buchanan: Spending Into Tax ‘A Very Real Possibility’
It has been two decades since the Pacers were a taxpaying team, but there’s a chance that will change during the 2026/27 season, general manager Chad Buchanan said during a recent radio interview on The Ride with JMV on The Fan, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
Based on their current salary commitments, the Pacers will be hovering right around the projected luxury tax line ($200.5MM) in 2026/27. In other words, if they want to make upgrades via free agency or on the trade market, it would likely mean becoming a taxpayer for the first time since 2006. According to Buchanan, Indiana is in a “win-now window” and intends to be “aggressive” in its attempts to strengthen the roster, so paying the tax is in play.
“That’s a very real possibility,” Buchanan said. “There’s a lot of different moves that can be made this offseason, whether it be trades or free agency, that impact where you’re at relative to the luxury tax and then the first apron and obviously the second apron above that. You want to be smart and not hamstring yourself. The aprons can be very restrictive in terms of how you build your team.
“(Team owner Herb) Simon and our whole front office, we want to be aggressive and try to put this team in the best position to win a championship. Spending smartly and wisely will be a part of that, but I think we realize where we’re at with our timeline and, for the right player, I think we’re gonna spend.”
If the Pacers had gotten some good luck in the draft lottery and hung onto their top-four protected first-rounder, that pick would’ve had a cap hold exceeding $10MM+, which would’ve pushed Indiana deeper into projected tax territory. Not having that first-round selection will make it easier for the team to avoid the tax, either by operating below that threshold entirely or by surpassing it and then ducking back below it later with an in-season trade.
While Buchanan insists Pacers ownership is prepared to spend on a roster with championship aspirations, only six teams have paid less in total tax payments than Indiana since the system was implemented in 2001/02, per Mark Deeks of Forbes, and only four clubs have gone longer without paying a luxury tax bill (Sacramento and Detroit haven’t been taxpayers since 2004, while Charlotte and New Orleans have never paid the tax).
Still, the Pacers’ willingness to roll the dice on that valuable 2026 first-rounder as part of their trade package for Ivica Zubac in February is a strong signal that they’re all-in on their current window. Addressing that trade and the fact that Indiana was forced to send the No. 5 overall pick to the Clippers, Buchanan reiterated that he and the Pacers’ front office don’t regret making their move for Zubac.
“We wanted to keep the core of this roster intact because it’s shown to be a very successful core,” Buchanan explained. “Having to sacrifice that this summer to go find a starting center only creates another hole for us and that’s not something we wanted to risk. Regardless of how it turned out, I would still make this trade. I’m a big believer in this group. I’m a big believer in Zu. I’m a big believer in the coaches. Although it is disappointing not getting the pick 1-4, I still would do the trade over again.”
Buchanan added that Indiana was deciding between Zubac and another center at the trade deadline and opted for the longtime Clippers big man.
“We had Zu and one other option that were both the same price,” the Pacers’ GM said, per Dopirak. “To trade for a top-10 center in our league is pricey. We made the decision at that point to be aggressive.”
Reporting before and after February’s trade deadline linked the Pacers to centers like Walker Kessler, Jarrett Allen, Nic Claxton, Onyeka Okongwu, Daniel Gafford, and Yves Missi, though Zubac was most frequently cited as their top target.
Bulls Look To Interview Lamar Skeeter, Ryan Schmidt
The Bulls are expected to seek permission to interview Hornets assistant Lamar Skeeter and Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt as they seek a new head coach, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Upon being hired by Chicago as the team’s new head of basketball operations, Bryson Graham initially prioritized filling out his new-look front office. The team formally announced on Tuesday that Stephen Mervis is joining the organization as its senior VP of basketball operations and Acie Law IV has been hired as the VP of player personnel.
After finalizing those front office additions, the Bulls appear to be shifting in earnest to their head coaching search. Reporting earlier this week indicated that Sean Sweeney, James Borrego, Wes Unseld Jr., Micah Nori, and Dave Bliss are expected to interview for the coaching vacancy in Chicago, with Tiago Splitter also on the club’s radar.
Fischer adds a pair of new names to that list, and neither is one that we’ve heard connected to another head coaching position so far this spring.
Skeeter, 37, started out as a member of the Canton Charge’s coaching staff in the G League in 2012/13, then spent a season as a player development coach with the Hawks before being hired by the Jazz in 2014. He spent the next decade in Utah, working his way up from player development coach to lead assistant during that time. Skeeter was hired two years ago by Charlotte as the team’s top assistant under Charles Lee.
Schmidt, an assistant for the Raptors 905 in the G League for four seasons from 2017-21, has gained some head coaching experience since then, first with the London Lions in the British Basketball League and then with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s NBAGL affiliate. He has been a full-time Hawks assistant under Quin Snyder since 2024.
We’re tracking the Bulls’ head coaching search and the rest of the NBA’s 2026 offseason coaching carousel right here.
Spurs, Pelicans To Play Two Games In Europe Next Season
May 20: The NBA has officially confirmed that the Spurs and Pelicans will face one another at the Accor Arena in Paris on January 14, 2027 and at Co-op Live in Manchester on January 17. The latter contest will be the first regular season game to be played in Manchester.
May 17: Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will return to Paris, France during the 2026/27 season, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Substack) that the Pelicans are San Antonio’s expected opponent.
The Spurs split a pair of games in Paris against the Pacers in January 2025. This coming January (2027), they’re slated to play one game in Paris and one in Manchester, England, Stein writes.
Orlando and Memphis split this year’s NBA games in Europe, which took place in Berlin, Germany and London, England. Magic forward Franz Wagner and his older brother Moritz Wagner are both Berlin natives.
Stein hears the league has targeted Berlin and Paris as the 2028 hosts of the two European games.
After going 62-20 during the regular season and dispatching Portland and Minnesota in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Spurs are set to face the defending champion Thunder on Monday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The Pelicans went just 26-56 in 2025/26, tied for the seventh-worst record in the league.
Mavericks Executive Matt Riccardi Leaving Organization
It has been a month of upheaval in Dallas. After hiring Masai Ujiri to be their new president and Mike Schmitz as their general manager, the Mavericks parted ways with head coach Jason Kidd on Tuesday and are also splitting with executive Matt Riccardi, who is departing the organization, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
A native of the Dallas area, Riccardi worked with the Nets for 13 years in scouting and executive roles, then was hired by the Mavericks in 2022 as their senior director of pro personnel.
He was promoted during the summer of 2023 to an assistant GM position and was elevated again last November when the team fired Nico Harrison, becoming a co-interim GM with Michael Finley at that time. Riccardi and Finley ran the front office for the remainder of the 2025/26 season while the Mavs searched for Harrison’s permanent successor. According to Fischer, Riccardi was actually the runner-up to Ujiri in that search.
Riccardi was the Mavs’ representative in the drawing room on draft lottery night last May when the team won the No. 1 overall pick and also represented Dallas at this month’s lottery drawing. Just over a week later, however, he’s on his way out. Riccardi’s exit is part of a “flurry” of staff changes involving coaches and scouts, writes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
There has been no indication yet whether Finley will remain in Dallas’ front office or join Riccardi in leaving the team.
Here are a few more notes from Stein on the changes in Dallas:
- Ujiri’s annual salary on his new deal with the Mavs is “comfortably” in the eight figures, industry sources tell The Stein Line.
- While it’s not immediately clear who will emerge as top candidates to replace Kidd on the sidelines in Dallas, Ujiri likely already has some specific targets in mind, according to Stein, who points out that the former Raptors executive hired Schmitz just four days after joining the organization. Spurs associate head coach and former Mavs assistant Sean Sweeney is one potential candidate with ties to the team, Stein notes; Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, whose time as a Raptors assistant overlapped with Ujiri’s stint in Toronto, is another.
- As for Kidd, it’s possible he could draw immediate interest from another team seeking a head coach, assuming he wants to jump right into another job. The Magic, who are in the midst of a coaching search, had serious interest in Kidd before hiring Jamahl Mosley in 2021, per Stein. Kidd also has a preexisting relationship with new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon, Stein adds.
- According to Stein, the expectation is that the Mavericks will receive trade interest in point guard Kyrie Irving this offseason, though it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll be receptive to those inquiries.
And-Ones: Wiseman, Toppin, Luis, Ingles
Is James Wiseman headed to Israel? That’s a real possibility, Sportando’s Dario Skerletic relays.
According to Tomer Givati of Israel Hayom, Wiseman has received an offer from Maccabi Tel Aviv. The free agent center is reportedly considering a move overseas in order to play more consistently.
Wiseman appeared in four games with the Pacers this season before he was released the day after Christmas. The former No. 2 overall pick only appeared in one game during the previous season due to an Achilles tear.
Here’s more from around the international basketball world:
- Another Israeli team, Hapoel Tel Aviv, is reportedly in talks with another former NBA big man, Jacob Toppin, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, via Sport5. Toppin is considered Jewish and therefore would not count as a foreign player, Maggi notes. Toppin was waived in mid-December by the Hawks as a two-way player after he underwent season-ending right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. He suffered the injury in a G League game with the College Park Skyhawks.
- Former St. John’s star RJ Luis, the 2025 Big East Player of the Year, has committed to LSU but is likely to encounter a long eligibility fight, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Luis went undrafted last year, then signed a two-way contract with the Jazz before being traded to the Celtics in early August. He was waived by the Celtics before signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate. The Maine Celtics waived Luis, who was injured, before he played a game.
- Joe Ingles said he was eager to keep playing. That’s why he signed a two-year deal with Melbourne United after finishing out the season with the Timberwolves, he told Olgun Uluc of ESPN. “I knew, deep down, I had that itch to play,” he said “We would play pick-up every game day, and I would be competing, I would play really well, I felt really good. I obviously just wasn’t getting the minutes with the team we had in Minnesota.”