Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly is opting into the five-year, $40 million contract he signed in 2022. Meaning he’s beneath contract for 2 extra seasons with the Wolves, crew sources advised The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski on Friday.
Tim Connelly Pushed Again Choose-Out Clause Amid Possession Battle
Connelly’s deal initially had an opt-out clause for the summer time of 2024, “one thing Connelly negotiated earlier than signing due to the uncertainty surrounding the Timberwolves’ possession scenario,” Krawczynski wrote.
Nevertheless, Connelly pushed the choice again another season to see what would occur with the Wolves’ possession scenario. Because it turned out, the 2024-25 season grew to become the final marketing campaign the place Glen Taylor would personal the Timberwolves.
Following a courtroom case regarding who ought to personal the NBA franchise concerning a dispute Taylor made with the 2 events in query, each Marc Lore and former MLB star participant Alex Rodriguez have been dominated to personal the Wolves following the conclusion of the 2024-25 marketing campaign.
“Tremendous comfortable right here,” Connelly stated at his end-of-the-season press convention in June. “It’s been nice, not simply working with the crew, however this complete neighborhood actually seems like house. I believe you guys are caught with me.”
Timberwolves Have Been Reworked Into A Playoff Contender
Connelly, 49, has performed an vital function in configuring a playoff-caliber Wolves roster that has reached the Western Convention finals in every of the final two seasons.
Hiring Connelly was one of many first main adjustments Rodriguez and Lore made once they first joined Minnesota as co-owners with Taylor. They initially owned 20% of the membership in July 2021.
In June, Lore and Rodriguez lastly accomplished their buy of the Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx on the $1.5 billion price ticket they agreed to with Taylor.
Since taking up, Connelly has made a number of noteworthy strikes.
He traded for Rudy Gobert in 2022 and made probably the greatest trades in franchise historical past in 2023, when he despatched D’Angelo Russell to the Los Angeles Lakers and, in return, obtained Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and three second-round picks from the Utah Jazz and Lakers.
Connelly additionally pulled the set off on a blockbuster commerce that despatched longtime Wolves massive man Karl-Anthony Cities to the New York Knicks in trade for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
Matthew Caldwell Named Timberwolves, Lynx CEO
Connelly opted into his deal simply days after Matthew Caldwell stepped down because the enterprise operations president of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and accepted a 10-year deal as CEO of the Timberwolves and Lynx.
In keeping with the information launch, Caldwell will start overseeing “day-to-day enterprise operations and high-level strategic initiatives for the Timberwolves, Lynx, and [the G League’s] Iowa Wolves” on Sept. 2.
He’ll assume obligations from interim-CEO Kelly Laferriere, who has led the group throughout its possession transition interval. Laferriere will assume the function of senior advisor to possession
“I really like the NHL. I’ve loved hockey and I’m a giant fan of it,” Caldwell stated. “However the NBA is only a a lot larger, international platform. I actually imagine in Marc and Alex and their imaginative and prescient and what they’re attempting to do. They’re attempting to make Minnesota finest at school.”
Caldwell performed a significant function in remodeling the Panthers into back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. He joined the NHL crew in 2014 as CCO earlier than being promoted to CEO in 2016.
