Tim Connelly
Tim Connelly is an American basketball executive who is the president of basketball operations of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association. He previously worked for the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets, before becoming president of basketball operations at the Denver Nuggets. He served for the Nuggets from June 2013 onwards, until May 23, 2022, when Connelly agreed to a five-year, $40 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves to take over in the same role within the organization.
Early life
Tim Connelly was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew up with four other brothers and two sisters. After attending Fordham University in New York, Connelly transferred to Catholic University in Washington, D.C. for his junior year.Executive career
Washington Wizards
In his junior year, Connelly wrote to Chuck Douglas, the director of college scouting for the Washington Wizards. He became an intern for the Wizards in 1996 in the basketball operations department. He became an assistant video coordinator in 1999. Connelly became a full-time scout in 2000, and was promoted to the director of player personnel. During his tenure with the Wizards, Connelly worked under NBA legend Wes Unseld.New Orleans Hornets
In 2010, Connelly joined the front office of the New Orleans Hornets. He became assistant general manager under Dell Demps. Connelly's duties included scouting, trade negotiations, player contracts, and draft preparations.Denver Nuggets
On June 17, 2013, Connelly was named as the executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Denver Nuggets. He replaced former NBA Executive of the Year, Masai Ujiri. On June 15, 2017, it was announced that Connelly would be promoted to being the team's president of basketball operations for the purpose of retaining assistant general manager Artūras Karnišovas as the team's general manager. After years of missing out on the playoffs, Connelly and Karnišovas would help lead the team to the 2019 NBA playoffs, after previously missing out the first five seasons under his guidance. Under his tenure, the Nuggets were able to acquire several prospects through the draft, including Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, Jamal Murray, Monté Morris, and Michael Porter Jr..In 2020, Connelly finished in ninth place for the Executive of the Year Award.
In 2021, Connelly was responsible in part for bringing over Aaron Gordon, while giving up longtime core piece Harris in the process. Connelly claims to have asked for permission from All-Star Center Nikola Jokić before accepting the Gordon trade. The Nuggets won the 2023 NBA Finals with the core that Connelly built.