Report: Timberwolves in ‘serious talks’ with Nuggets’ president of basketball operations Tim Connelly about same role in Minnesota

Timberwolves ownership was expected to go big-game hunting when exploring options for Minnesota’s currently vacant president of basketball operations role.

It appears as though the Wolves may have their sights set on a specific target, one that certainly qualifies as a potential splash hire.

Minnesota is in “serious talks” with Tim Connelly, the Denver Nuggets’ president of basketball operations, The Athletic reported Wednesday, though no agreement between the two sides is imminent.

Connelly has drafted two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic along with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. since taking over as Denver’s primary decision-maker in 2013. The Nuggets haven’t quite reached title contender status but are a consistent force in the Western Conference playoff picture.

Timberwolves stakeholder Marc Lore — who with Alex Rodriguez is set to become a majority owner in the coming years — has long said his companies are built by hiring the best people and allowing them to do their work. Connelly is widely regarded as one of the NBA’s premier executives.

Connelly was reportedly interested in leaving Denver to take over the basketball decisions in Washington in 2019, before ultimately deciding to stay with the Nuggets. He wouldn’t be the first executive to leave Denver, which has lost Masai Ujiri and Artūras Karnišovas to Toronto and Chicago, respectively, over the past decade.

Compensation would likely need to be the tipping point for Connelly. If Minnesota were to ante up a sizable raise, which could even include an ownership stake, that could entice Connelly to make the leap.

Doing so would create a murky future for the Wolves’ executive vice president of basketball operations, Sachin Gupta. Gupta is currently heading Minnesota’s front office operations, something he’s done since Gersson Rosas was fired on the eve of training camp last September.

While Minnesota didn’t make any splash moves during the season — which likely would’ve sacrificed long-term assets for short-term gains when Minnesota wasn’t in a position to make a deep playoff run regardless — Gupta is credited with steadying the waters during tumultuous times for the franchise. He and recently extended head coach Chris Finch have a strong relationship they both believe is built to last.

Finch has offered his strong endorsement of Gupta to the ownership group.

“They know that I think he’s outstanding and he’s been a huge reason that we have stability in this organization right now. He’s very smart. We have complete alignment,” Finch said. “The players love him. He’s appropriate in his presence around the team. He’s not heavy-handed with the coaching staff. He does his job. I’m a huge fan, and I’ve advocated for him to have his opportunity to be the guy to run this team. Nothing would make me happier than that. No better time, after this season, to be able to continue to build.”

Gupta is still a candidate to be the organization’s long-term basketball boss. But should Minnesota hire someone else to take on that role, it’s unclear if Gupta would choose to stick around to work in a secondary role.

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