Denver Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has agreed to a five-year deal worth more than $40 million that includes equity capital to oversee the operations of the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources told ESPN on Monday.
The deal makes Connelly one of the highest-paid executives in the league and has transformed a Timberwolves franchise that has struggled to find stability in its leadership structure.
Connelly discussed the job at length with Timberwolves minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez last week and met with majority owner Glen Taylor on Saturday in Minnesota. His representative, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, finalized the terms of the massive deal with Minnesota on Monday, the sources added.
Nuggets governor Josh Kroenke made an offer to keep Connelly, but an offer that would have made Connelly one of the highest-paid executives in the league was still dwarfed by the Timberwolves’ offer. Only a handful of the league’s top executives have ownership capital as part of their deals.
Connelly has long professed his affinity and devotion to the Western Conference contender and the organization he built with the Nuggets, but he becomes the second straight top executive to leave Denver for a significantly more lucrative offer elsewhere. Connelly replaced Masai Ujiri in 2013, who left Denver for the Toronto Raptors.
Denver is expected to continue with general manager Calvin Booth at the helm of the organization.
Connelly has built a reputation as one of the best talent evaluators and negotiators in the league, maintaining strong relationships with top player agents and the respect of his front office peers. Connelly has a strong relationship with the two-time MVP, Nikola Jockicwhom he selected 41st overall in the 2014 NBA draft. Jokic is eligible for a contract extension this summer.
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T-Wolves to spend $40 million on Denver architect