The Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly had discussions with Denver Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly about taking the same position in Minnesota.
A report from Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic says the Timberwolves received permission to talk with Connelly in recent days. While the report says no agreement has been reached and nothing is imminent, the talks have “moved beyond exploratory conversations.”
Connelly is the first known external candidate to replace Gersson Rosas, who was fired from his role last September. Although Timberwolves executive vice president Sachin Gupta took over as president in the wake of his firing and “remains a significant part of the organization’s long term vision,” the ownership trio of Glen Taylor, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore is mulling its options, the report says.
Speaking to SKOR North earlier this week, KSTP’s Darren Wolfson said that Lore and Rodriguez prefer to bring in someone outside the organization to take the role and are “looking to make a splash hire.”
That sentiment was echoed by independent reporter Dane Moore, who says Lore and Rodriguez have a list of five president of basketball operations around the league they are interested in: Connelly, Toronto’s Masai Ujiri, Philadelphia’s Daryl Morey, Bob Myers of the Warriors and Sam Presti of the Thunder.
Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez put together a list of five POBOs to target shortly after purchasing the Timberwolves, sources say.
Originally Pat Riley was on that list. These are the most recent five names, sources say:
Tim Connelly
Masai Ujiri
Daryl Morey
Bob Myers
Sam Presti— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) May 19, 2022
The Denver Post reports that the Timberwolves are down to four big names: Connelly, Ujiri, Myers and Presti.
Wolfson mentioned 76ers GM Elton Brand and Atlanta Hawks assistant GM Landry Fields as candidates, while also saying Lore and Rodriguez are aiming higher, including one president from the Eastern Conference and two in the Western Conference.
