Wolves’ Tim Connelly On Minnesota: ‘It Feels Like Home’
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly reportedly has an opt-out clause in his contract this offseason, but it sounds like he intends to stay in Minnesota.
“It feels like home. … I think you guys are stuck with me,” Connelly told media members today, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The news doesn’t come as a surprise. Multiple reporters — including Brian Windhorst, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, Michael Scotto, and Krawczynski — have indicated that signing Connelly to a new contract was a priority and the team was optimistic an agreement would be reached. Connelly is said to have a good working relationship with new majority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who are expected to be approved by the league’s Board of Governors later this month.
Connelly was rumored to be a top target of the Hawks in their search for a new head of basketball operations and was also linked to the Nuggets’ vacancy. Connelly ran Denver’s front office from 2013-22, putting its championship core together, though he technically missed out on that title by leaving a year early.
The 49-year-old has pulled off some blockbuster trades since he was hired by the Timberwolves in 2022, acquiring Rudy Gobert from Utah later that year and sending Karl-Anthony Towns to New York last October in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop (who was later waived) and a first-round pick.
The Wolves have made the playoffs each of the past three seasons with Connelly as the head of basketball operations, including — most recently — back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
Here are a few more highlights from Connelly’s press conference:
- Randle, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker could all be free agents this summer — Randle and Reid hold players options for 2025/26, while Alexander-Walker is unrestricted. Connelly says the team is “cautiously optimistic” it will be able to bring back all three rotation players, as Krawczynski relays (via Twitter). “We’re very appreciative of what the market might look like,” Connelly said. “We’re pretty cautiously optimistic we’re in a good place with all of the guys. Most importantly, they want to be here.”
- Connelly praised head coach Chris Finch for the “great” job he has done over the past couple years, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “It’s not easy what we’ve tasked him with the last couple of years (multiple major trades),” Connelly said. “… It’s a testament to his intelligence, his ability to be creative and to coach any group we put in front of him.”
- Connelly was also complimentary of Finch’s coaching staff for its adaptability and player development skills, according to Krawczynski (Twitter link). “Someone is going to smartly hire (assistant) Micah Nori as a head coach soon.”
- Connelly thinks Anthony Edwards will have a “challenging” offseason in front of him as the Wolves attempt to take the next step, but he’s confident in the star guard’s two-way ability (Twitter video link via Scotto) “The sky is the limit,” Connelly said of Edwards. “We think he’s going to be one of the best players of all time, and we think he’s on that track.”
International Rumors: Dozier, Oturu, Bryant, Guduric, Moore
Veteran guard PJ Dozier, who has spent parts of seven seasons in the NBA, is in advanced talks with Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv, reports Aris Barkas of Eurohoops (story via Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops).
Dozier, 28, spent the first few months of 2024/25 with the Timberwolves prior to being released in late December. He only appeared in nine games with Minnesota for a total of 35 minutes. Dozier subsequently signed with Anadolu Efes and is currently competing in the Turkish League playoffs.
As Askounis writes, Anadolu Efes would like to keep Dozier and plans to make him an offer. The 6’5″ wing played for Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade in ’23/24. Both Efes and Partizan are members of the EuroLeague, while Hapoel is set to join as an expansion team in ’25/26, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.
Known for his defense, Dozier has played a total of 130 regular season games in the NBA with Oklahoma City, Boston, Denver, Sacramento and Minnesota. The South Carolina native holds career averages of 5.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 15.4 minutes per contest.
Here are a few more notes from overseas:
- Former Clippers and Raptors big man Daniel Oturu is finalizing a multiyear contract with Hapoel Tel Aviv, per Moshe Barda and Reef Gross of Israeli media outlet ONE (Twitter link; hat tip to Askounis of Eurohoops). The 33rd overall pick of the 2020 draft, Oturu has spent the past two years with Anadolu Efes.
- A third member of Efes, guard Elijah Bryant, has also been linked to Hapoel Tel Aviv, as reported by Barda and Gross of ONE (via Twitter). Gross hears it’s a three-year deal worth in excess of €7.5MM, though the contract has yet to be finalized. Bryant, 30, won a title with Milwaukee in ’20/21 after signing at the very end of the regular season. He has been one of Efes’ best players over the past four years.
- Olimpia Milano has extended a lucrative offer to Marko Guduric, per Meridian Sport. The Serbian guard, who played 44 games with Memphis in ’19/20, is under contract with Turkey’s Fenerbahce through 2026, but has an opt-out clause to negotiate with other teams, according to Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops, who reports that Panthinaikos and Crvena Zvezda are interested in Guduric as well. Guduric, 30, recently helped Fenerbahce win the EuroLeague title, Strogglakis notes, recording 19 points (on 8-of-10 shooting) and six rebounds in the final against Monaco.
- Former San Jose State guard Omari Moore, who spent a few months with the Bucks on a two-way deal during the 2023 offseason, is signing a one-year contract with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of Australia’s National Basketball League, sources tell Olgun Uluc of ESPN. Moore spent this past season with Darüşşafaka of Turkey’s BSL.
Mavericks, Dante Exum Have Mutual Interest In New Deal
Despite rumors that he’s being targeted by the Turkish team Fenerbahce, veteran guard Dante Exum is believed to prefer to remain in the NBA for the 2025/26 season, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
According to Stein, Exum and the Mavericks have mutual interest in trying to work out a new deal after he spent the past two years in Dallas.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Exum spent the first seven years of his professional career in the NBA, playing for Utah and Cleveland, but struggled to establish himself as a reliable rotation player, largely due to his lack of offensive production. He played in Europe for two seasons from 2021-23, developing a reliable three-point shot during his time with Barcelona and Partizan Belgrade, then returned stateside during the 2023 offseason.
Injuries, which hampered Exum’s development earlier in his career, have continued to be an issue during his second NBA stint, limiting him to 75 total appearances across the past two seasons. But he has been a very effective role player for the Mavs when healthy, averaging 8.0 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .516/.472/.768.
As Stein points out, Dallas will be seeking backcourt help for next season with Kyrie Irving‘s recovery from ACL surgery expected to extend well into the fall. That should help create a path for Exum’s return. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent.
However, the team might have to make a trade or two to ensure there’s room on the roster for Exum. Dallas has 10 players on guaranteed contracts for 2024/25, plus Irving and Dwight Powell holding player options, Brandon Williams with a team-friendly club option, and Cooper Flagg expected to join the roster as the No. 1 pick in the draft. That’s 14 players, and the Mavs are expected to look outside the organization for point guard help as well.
The Mavs will hold Early Bird rights on Exum, who earned $3.15MM this past season.
Jordan Ott, Johnnie Bryant Finalists For Suns’ Head Coaching Job
11:14 am: While Ott is a finalist for the Suns’ head coaching vacancy, Shams Charania of ESPN confirms, it’s Bryant – not Quinn – who joins him in that final group. According to Charania, the two Cavaliers assistants will meet in person with Ishbia, Gregory, and Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein in Michigan.
Bryant, who was hired last offseason as the Cavaliers’ associate head coach, previously worked for the Jazz (2014-20) and Knicks (2020-24) as an assistant.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) reports that the Suns are expected to make their decision by the end of the week.
8:50 am: After reporting over the weekend that the Suns are expected to advance two or three finalists to the last round of their head coaching search to meet with team owner Mat Ishbia, NBA insider Marc Stein (Substack link) says Heat assistant Chris Quinn and Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott have been “repeatedly forecasted in league coaching circles” to reach that final stage of the search process.
Quinn, a former NBA player, worked as an assistant for Northwestern in 2013/14 before joining Miami’s coaching staff under Erik Spoelstra in 2014. He has since emerged as Spoelstra’s top lieutenant, having spent more than a decade on the Heat’s bench and served as the club’s acting head coach when Spoelstra has had to miss games.
Ott was part of coaching staffs with the Hawks, Nets, and Lakers before reuniting with Kenny Atkinson in Cleveland a year ago. Ott, who previously worked under Atkinson in Brooklyn and attended Michigan State like Ishbia, was reportedly a finalist last spring for the head coaching job in Charlotte that ultimately went to Charles Lee.
Quinn and Ott are among four candidates confirmed to have interviewed with Suns general manager Brian Gregory, along with Cleveland assistant Johnnie Bryant and Dallas assistant Sean Sweeney.
According to Stein, the expectation was that Gregory would meet with Thunder assistant Dave Bliss in Oklahoma City over the weekend. Stein doesn’t confirm that the meeting took place as planned, but notes that Bliss wasn’t expected to fly out to meet the Suns while his team was preparing for the NBA Finals.
Marc J. Spears of Andscape and NBA insider Chris Haynes (Threads link) have both stated that Suns assistant and former NBA head coach David Fizdale was also still in the mix for Phoenix’s coaching vacancy entering the team’s third round of interviews. The club initially identified between 15 and 20 candidates for the job before advancing nine of those candidates to the second round of the process.
Mutual Interest Between Raptors, Giannis Antetokounmpo?
“Mutual interest” exists between the Raptors and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, veteran beat writer Doug Smith writes in his latest mailbag for The Toronto Star.
Antetokounmpo is reportedly mulling his future in Milwaukee and is expected to let the Bucks know at some point soon whether he remains committed to the team or would prefer to seek a change of scenery. While Shams Charania of ESPN reported a few weeks ago that Antetokounmpo is more “open-minded” than in the past about taking the latter route, there has been no indication to this point that he’s looking to leave the Bucks.
It’s no surprise that the Raptors would have interest in Antetokounmpo if the Bucks were to entertain the idea of trading him. Toronto’s president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has long coveted the two-time MVP, having reportedly made efforts to trade into the 2013 draft to select him, and the Raptors are said to be viewed by rival teams as a candidate to pursue a major move this summer.
Antetokounmpo’s potential interest in the Raptors would be more notable. The star forward has always spoken highly of Ujiri, who helped Giannis gain Greek citizenship when his family moved from Lagos, Nigeria to Athens, per Smith. There has also been speculation that if Antetokounmpo were to seek a trade, he might prefer to remain in the Eastern Conference, where the path to the NBA Finals in the coming years looks far less crowded. But again, that’s just speculation.
With no indication yet that Antetokounmpo will request a trade and the Raptors certain to face a ton of competition if he does, the odds are against the 30-year-old ending up in Toronto, Smith acknowledges.
Still, he views Toronto as a trade partner that would make some sense for the Bucks, given that the Raptors control all their own future first-round picks and have a variety of sizable contracts that could be considered for inclusion in a trade package for matching purposes. They also have enough wing depth that they could give up a strong combination of young players and veterans without becoming shorthanded at the position, Smith adds.
Jazz Hire Celtics’ Austin Ainge As President Of Basketball Ops
The Jazz have hired veteran Celtics executive Austin Ainge as their president of basketball operations, the team announced today in a press release. Tim Bontemps and Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) first reported the news.
Ainge has spent 17 years with the Celtics, including the last 14 in the front office. He was initially hired as a scout, then spent a couple seasons coaching Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine from 2009-11 before transitioning to a front office position. He served as the club’s director of player personnel and scouting until 2019 and has been an assistant general manager for the past six years.
Ainge has played a significant role in the Celtics’ scouting and pre-draft process over the past decade-plus. The Jazz’s announcement today notes that he “helped to identify” the draft selections of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Austin Ainge as our new president of basketball operations,” Jazz owner and governor Ryan Smith said in a statement. “Austin is one of the brightest minds in the NBA—his 17 years with the Celtics have given him incredible insight into every part of an organization. I’ve known Austin for 15 years, and I’ve watched him grow into an accomplished, innovative, and strategic basketball executive who’s ready to lead this organization.”
Obviously, beyond his relationship with Smith, Ainge has a strong connection to the front office in Utah, where his father Danny Ainge has been the franchise’s CEO and alternate governor since 2021. The elder Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik have collaborated on roster decisions in recent years, with Zanik focused on day-to-day operations in his GM role.
A president of basketball operations title suggests that Austin will be above Zanik and below his father in Utah’s front office hierarchy. The Jazz’s press release implies they’re simply adding the newest hire to the current group rather than the move being part of a larger restructuring of the front office.
“Austin is experienced, forward-thinking, and laser-focused on building a championship-caliber program,” Smith said. “He has been instrumental in every aspect of building great teams – from scouting the best players to constructing a winning roster.
“In this new role leading the Jazz front office, Austin’s ability to identify great talent, scout, and partner with Danny, Justin, and (head coach) Will (Hardy) and the rest of the front office team will be key. Hiring Austin couldn’t be coming at a better time as we build up as an organization towards our ultimate goal of championship-level basketball.”
Pacers’ Carlisle: Walker To Miss Multiple Games With Ankle Injury
Pacers forward Jarace Walker is expected to miss at least the first two games of the NBA Finals and possibly more than that, head coach Rick Carlisle said during a Monday morning appearance on 107.5 The Fan in Indiana (YouTube link; hat tip to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star).
Walker sustained a right ankle injury – diagnosed as a sprain – during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday and was using crutches in the locker room after the game.
“He’s going to be out for a while,” Carlisle said today. “I don’t know how long. He certainly will not play in the first two games of the Finals. He was still on crutches (on Sunday). I’m certain he’ll be listed as out for those two initial games.”
The Pacers’ head coach went on to point out that the Finals are “stretched out over a pretty significant period of time,” which could give the second-year forward a chance to recover before the series is over, though Carlisle would offer no guarantees.
The No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Walker was in and out of Indiana’s rotation this season, averaging 6.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 15.9 minutes per game across 75 outings (five starts).
Walker’s role has remained inconsistent in the playoffs — he appeared in all five first-round games against Milwaukee and logged double-digit minutes in four of them, but averaged just 6.0 MPG in round two vs. Cleveland and didn’t see any action in the first four games of the conference finals against New York. The 21-year-old had six points in 13 minutes in Game 5 and played seven minutes in Game 6 before injuring his ankle.
While Walker’s absence likely won’t have a major impact on Carlisle’s rotation decisions, the Pacers’ coach has shown a tendency to dig deep on his bench if necessary, turning to third-string center Tony Bradley repeatedly during the conference finals. He’ll have one fewer option available to him while Walker recovers.
Pacific Notes: Durant, Lakers, Kings Draft
Kevin Durant is one of the biggest names to watch this offseason following reports that the Suns‘ 36-year-old star has likely played his last game in Phoenix. With that in mind, Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin broke down six 2025 playoff teams who might make sense as Durant suitors, exploring how he would fit on each roster and what they could offer the Suns in a potential trade.
The first destination Rankin looked at is the Timberwolves, who reportedly had legitimate interest in Durant at the 2025 trade deadline. While Rankin says the Suns should be most interested in Julius Randle, his proposed deal includes Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, and young depth like Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark.
Other trade options considered by Rankin involve a one-for-one trade with the Warriors for Jimmy Butler, a deal that lands the Grizzlies’ Ja Morant or Desmond Bane in Phoenix, two centered around young upside swings for either the Rockets’ Jalen Green and Jabari Smith or the Pistons’ Jaden Ivey, and a depth-replenishing trade with the Heat for Andrew Wiggins, Duncan Robinson, and Kel’el Ware.
While the Suns face cap-related limitations on any deal, Durant will undoubtedly have his share of suitors once the trade markets open.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- After rescinding their trade for the Hornets’ Mark Williams, the Lakers were stuck without a playable starting center in the 2025 playoffs. Going into the 2025/26 season, filling that hole will be priority one, especially given Luka Doncic‘s love of playing with a lob threat, writes Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. Price quotes general manager Rob Pelinka‘s address to the media following the season: “It would be great to have a center that was a vertical threat, lob threat, and someone that could protect the interior defensively… There’s also spread centers that can protect the rim. We’ll look at those as well. I wouldn’t want to limit the archetype, but we know we need a big man.” Price lists the Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford and the Nets’ Nic Claxton as prime trade targets, while the Hawks’ Clint Capela stands out as a top free agent option.
- The Kings announced six pre-draft workouts for Monday, June 2nd, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). That list includes Marcus Williams from USF, Alijah Martin out of Florida, Chibuzo Agbo from USC, Texas’ Arthur Kaluma, David N’Guessan from Kansas State, and Daniel Batcho of Louisiana Tech. While a majority of the candidates are big men, Williams and Martin are both 6’2″ well-rounded guards. Martin is the only ranked player on ESPN’s top-100 board from the group of candidates, coming in at No. 61, after averaging 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 36% from three.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Sixers, Nets Draft
After acquiring Brandon Ingram at the February trade deadline, the Raptors are viewed by teams around the league as a candidate to make another major move this offseason, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (hat tip to RealGM).
“Toronto is one of those teams that is sitting there on the balls of its feet, which is interesting,” Windhorst said on the latest episode of the Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link).
Eric Koreen of The Athletic added that the state of the Eastern Conference should push the Raptors to be slightly more aggressive, as the bottom of the conference is likely to be weak, especially if Giannis Antetokounmpo departs for the Western Conference.
However, Koreen adds that his instinct is that the core five Raptors, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, and Brandon Ingram, will likely remain with the team heading into next season.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- After a season that went much worse than expected, the Sixers are faced with a multitude of questions, writes Keith Pompey of The Inquirer. The first domino is the third overall pick in the 2025 draft. If they do use the No. 3 pick, don’t expect standout trade addition Quentin Grimes‘ impending free agency to impact the selection, says Pompey, who emphasizes the need to select the best player available. Pompey writes within the same story that another lackluster year from Philadelphia could spell the end of team president Daryl Morey‘s tenure as the lead decision-maker.
- Speaking of the third pick in the 2025 draft, count Sixers star Paul George as a firm believer in Ace Bailey, Pompey writes in a separate story. Pompey reports that George has hyped up the 6’9″ wing three different times leading into the offseason. Recently, George said, “If there was no Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey would have been an even bigger name that people would have been talking about in this draft. … I think he’s going to come into the league and make noise right away.” Carmelo Anthony and DeMarcus Cousins are two other former players who have raved about the shot-making wing, but others believe that the three-to-six or -seven range in the draft is basically interchangeable from a talent perspective.
- The Nets missed out on the Flagg sweepstakes, but they still have five picks in the top 36 of the 2025 draft. Collin Helwig of NetsDaily rounded up a list of players who have been confirmed to have worked out for the franchise, a list that doesn’t yet include Jeremiah Fears or Kon Knueppel. Colorado State’s Nique Clifford is the highest-ranked name known to have worked out for the team so far, along with Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier. Helwig notes that St. John’s Aaron Scott and Temple’s Steve Settle both worked out in Brooklyn, as did Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis and West Virginia’s Javon Small. Finally, Helwig writes that international players Noa Essengue, Ben Saraf, and Hugo Gonzalez will not be working out for the team, as they finish their seasons overseas.
Knicks Notes: Offseason, Towns, Rose
The Knicks have played their final game of the season after losing Game 6 to the Pacers on Saturday. Now come the questions. But according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the team should be wary of overreacting to the loss, just as the Pacers were when they lost last year’s Eastern Conference Finals to the Celtics.
Marks points to an interview with owner James Dolan earlier this season on Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart‘s Roommates podcast.
“You really have to do the fundamentals, the basics. You’ve got to build a team. You’ve got to build an organization. There is no waving a wand over a team and all of a sudden it makes it a great team,” Dolan said at the time.
The question is whether that will hold true for a team with some real areas of concern on its roster and very limited avenues to address them. The Knicks’ entire bench outside of Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride are free agents, with team options on P.J. Tucker and rookie center Ariel Hukporti. They will have access to the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception, but using it will trigger a hard cap at the second apron. The rest of the much-needed depth would have to be filled out using minimum-salary contracts, the draft (New York holds only the No. 50 overall pick), and limited trade tools.
Marks points to Robinson’s $13MM expiring salary as a potential trade chip if the Knicks decide to make a bigger move, but they also only have one movable first-rounder (the Wizards’ 2026 top-eight protected pick), along with a few potential pick swaps, to include in a deal.
Finally, the Knicks will have Mikal Bridges‘ extension to decide on. A new deal for Bridges would kick in for 2026, so it doesn’t impact this summer’s salary situation. Karl-Anthony Towns is also extension-eligible, though with three years left on his current contract, it’s a less pressing concern.
We have more from the Knicks:
- Given the reluctance of Knicks leadership to speak openly or address the media, parsing the next steps forward is something akin to reading the tea leaves, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. He points to president of basketball operations Leon Rose‘s patience in building this roster, though the Towns and Bridges trades seemed to signal a willingness to be more aggressive. Popper also points to the same Dolan interview referenced by Marks, in which the reclusive owner said, “[Rose] has done a good job of lining up the contracts. So this isn’t our only season. So we’re going to play a bunch of seasons together. You take a look at teams like Boston that have played together. They get to draw off something that they built off that period of time. And for this team, that’s really the challenge today, going into the playoffs. It’s to build that inside of the team, something that we can draw on.”
- While reports about the team’s frustrations with Towns’ defense began circulating moments after the Knicks’ season ended, Brunson’s praised Towns prior to Game 6 for how he was able to fight through multiple playoff injuries to stay active and involved in the series. “I have the utmost respect for him and the way he’s been able to play throughout this entire season and playoffs,” Brunson said, per Jared Schwartz of the New York Post. Despite a lingering knee injury, Towns finished the series with averages of 24.8 points and 12.2 rebounds while shooting 36.7% from three on five attempts per game.
- While it could be a challenging offseason for the Knicks, Rose has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to how to keep taking the right steps forward as an organization, writes the New York Post’s Mike Vaccaro. Vaccaro says that while Rose’s track record spearheading the Knicks isn’t impeccable — after all, whose is? — it has come pretty close, as has his ability to pivot in the rare moments he does make mistakes, such as the summer of 2021 when he built the offseason around signing Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker. Vaccaro suggests the club would benefit from acquiring a starting-caliber player who could shift energizer bunny Hart back to the role he was meant to play, as the team’s sixth man. However, he cautions that any such move would need to be for a player who can defend at a high level, given the limitations to the Brunson and Towns defensive tandem. Rose has earned that benefit of the doubt, Vaccaro writes, but his test starts now.