- Former Minnesota guard Payton Willis worked out for the Timberwolves on Tuesday and also has a workout scheduled with the Grizzlies later this week, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Willis has exhausted his eligibility after spending five seasons in college.
If the Knicks can’t get their preferred choices at point guard, the Timberwolves‘ D’Angelo Russell could become an option this summer, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
New York has a strong connection to Russell in Gersson Rosas, who was recently named senior basketball advisor after spending time with the organization as a consultant. Fischer notes that when Rosas was president of basketball operations in Minnesota, he traded Andrew Wiggins and a lottery pick to the Warriors for Russell in 2020 after missing out on him in free agency.
Russell, who has a $31.4MM expiring contract next season, took some heat after a disappointing performance in the Wolves’ brief playoff run. The emergence of other backcourt options in Minnesota might make him expendable as the team looks to the future.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell remains the Knicks’ dream choice, but getting him appears unlikely even if Utah decides to shake up its roster, Fischer writes. He cites “healthy skepticism” around the league that New York can make the best offer for Mitchell, noting that Miami could potentially put together a deal centered around Tyler Herro and multiple first-round picks.
The Knicks have also been linked to Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, who is headed toward free agency, but Fischer hears there’s a “growing sense” around the league that Brunson will remain in Dallas. Fischer expects Brunson’s new contract to top $20MM per season and says John Collins‘ five-year, $125MM extension could be a good comparison.
New York can only offer four years to Brunson and would need to clear out significant cap space first. Sources tell Fischer that the Knicks unsuccessfully tried to move Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel ahead of the trade deadline to begin opening cap room. Fischer cites league executives who believe New York would have to include either the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft or Immanuel Quickley in any deal to unload salary.
Fischer adds that one factor working in the Knicks’ favor in their pursuit of Brunson is that they can offer him the chance to be the undisputed leader of the offense, which he won’t have in Dallas playing alongside Luka Doncic. Fischer notes that if Brunson signs with the Pistons, who are also reported to be interested, he would be in the same situation with Cade Cunningham.
Sources also tell Fischer that New York won’t be among the teams pursuing Cavaliers free agent guard Collin Sexton. Cleveland is interested in keeping him, but it could be difficult considering the team’s salary commitment to other players. Fischer hears that the Pacers, Pistons and Wizards will all be in the market for Sexton.
The Mavericks are “determined” to find space on their roster for Theo Pinson next season, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article. Pinson appeared in just 19 regular season games in 2021/22 and wasn’t eligible to play in the postseason, but the Mavs view the 26-year-old wing as an important part of the team dynamic in Dallas, Stein explains, noting that center Boban Marjanovic falls into this category too.
Marjanovic has a $3.5MM contract for next season, so the Mavericks will have no problem keeping him around if they want to, but Pinson’s two-way deal is set to expire, making him an unrestricted free agent. Since he’ll have four years of NBA service under his belt, Pinson will no longer be eligible to sign a two-way contract in 2022/23 — he’d have to get a standard contract and be part of the 15-man roster if the Mavs want to retain him.
Pinson was viewed as the unofficial ring leader of the Mavs’ bench mob that earned the team $175K in fines during the playoffs due to its “bench decorum” violations.
Here’s more from Stein:
- With Darvin Ham off the board, it’s unclear which head coaching candidate is the frontrunner for the Hornets‘ job. However, Stein says there was some “fresh buzz” over the weekend that if Mike D’Antoni is hired by Charlotte, he could bring former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen along with him as an assistant. Stein reported a couple weeks ago that D’Antoni was in a strong position to land the job, but later cast some doubt on that report.
- Sources with knowledge of the situation tell Stein that the “equity” aspect of Tim Connelly‘s deal with the Timberwolves has been overstated. Stein’s understanding is that Connelly’s contract includes a bonus based on the value of the franchise increasing during his five-year contract, but he doesn’t actually own a stake in the team.
- It remains to be seen whether veteran assistant Phil Handy will return to the Lakers under Ham, according to Stein, who believes the Nets could be a fit for Handy if he doesn’t stay in L.A. Handy worked well with Kyrie Irving during their Cleveland days, and the Nets have a need on the player development side following Adam Harrington‘s exit, Stein observes.
- Nekias Duncan of Basketball News considers possible trade destinations for Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell. In 65 games this season, Russell averaged 18.1 points, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steals per contest, shooting 41% from the floor and 34% from three-point range. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has forged a sound working relationship with minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, proven by their successful recruitment of Denver’s Tim Connelly to head up their front office, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski writes. Taylor, who allowed the duo to design an offer that would be very difficult for the Nuggets to match, enjoys the ambition and energy of Lore and A-Rod and has gained confidence in their ability to complete a major transaction.
After recently signing a five-year, $40MM contract that includes a kicker for ownership equity to become the Timberwolves‘ new president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly appears to be looking to add some co-workers. Sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link) that Dell Demps and Darrell Arthur might join Connelly in Minnesota.
A former NBA player, Demps was the general manager of the Pelicans from 2010-19. He hired Connelly to be his assistant GM in New Orleans in 2010 before Connelly departed to run Denver’s front office in 2013. Demps is currently an assistant coach for the Jazz, having joined Utah in 2020.
Arthur is also a former player, having appeared in 503 games from 2008-18 with Memphis and Denver. His entire five-year tenure in Denver overlapped with Connelly’s stint, so clearly the two are familiar with each other. The 34-year-old recently joined the Nuggets‘ front office.
Following up on Singer’s news, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) hears that a couple other executives have been floated as possibilities to join Connelly’s front office: Magic vice president of basketball operations Matt Lloyd, and Heat VP of basketball operations/assistant GM Adam Simon.
Lloyd was with Chicago for 13 seasons prior to joining Orlando 10 years ago. He was just promoted to VP last October. Simon has reportedly been in the mix for top executive positions in the past, but has always stuck with Miami, having spent 27 seasons with the Heat.
Eric Walden and Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune wonder what Jazz general manager Justin Zanik might be able to get for All-Stars Donovan Mitchell or Rudy Gobert on the trade market, should the team opt to break up its playoff core during the offseason
Walden and Larsen note that the Jazz own one of the NBA’s priciest rosters. The club lacks a pick in the 2022 draft, through which it could have theoretically added complementary young talent under team control. Utah has yet to get beyond the second round of the playoffs with its Mitchell-Gobert core.
The authors also express skepticism that offloading the contracts of expensive starters Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Royce O’Neale, or sixth man Jordan Clarkson would result in any sort of meaningful return. This leaves the pathway to improve the team without offloading Mitchell or Gobert fairly narrow.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder are likely looking at a variety of players with the No. 12 pick near the end of the 2022 draft lottery, writes Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. Mussatto previews the fits of several young prospects, including G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels, Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan, and Memphis center Jalen Duren, among others.
- The Trail Blazers are reshaping their front office under new permanent general manager Joe Cronin during the offseason. Jason Quick of The Athletic (Twitter link) reports that assistant GM Bill Branch, who had been in Portland since 2010, has been let go by the team. This latest move continues a brain trust overhaul that began in December 2021.
- Tulsa forward Jeriah Horne, St. John’s wing Julian Champagnie and Alabama guard JD Davison are among the NBA hopefuls who have been brought in to work out for the Timberwolves as Minnesota prepares for the 2022 draft, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter video links). The Timberwolves possess the Nos. 19, 40, 48, and 50 picks this year.
The 2021/22 All-NBA teams have officially been announced by the NBA. For the fourth straight season, Bucks All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was unanimously selected to the All-NBA First Team by a voter panel of 100 media members. Antetokounmpo, 27, is making his sixth All-NBA team overall.
Antetokounmpo, reigning MVP Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic received the most votes. Suns All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker and Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid rounded out the list of top five vote-getters. Because the All-NBA teams, unlike the All-Star squads, require just one center per team, Embiid was relegated to an All-NBA Second Team placing.
Below is a list of the three All-NBA teams. Vote tallies are listed in parentheses next to player names. Five points were awarded to players for a First Team Vote, three points netted for a Second Team vote, and one for a Third Team vote. Antetokounmpo earned a perfect 500 points.
All-NBA First Team
- Guard: Luka Doncic, Mavericks (476)
- Guard: Devin Booker, Suns (460)
- Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (500)
- Forward: Jayson Tatum, Celtics (390)
- Center: Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (476)
All-NBA Second Team
- Guard: Ja Morant, Grizzlies (301)
- Guard: Stephen Curry, Warriors (274)
- Forward: Kevin Durant, Nets (276)
- Forward: DeMar DeRozan, Bulls (184)
- Center: Joel Embiid, Sixers (414)
All-NBA Third Team
- Guard: Chris Paul, Suns (114)
- Guard: Trae Young, Hawks (110)
- Forward: LeBron James, Lakers (169)
- Forward: Pascal Siakam, Raptors (63)
- Center: Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves (174)
Jazz center Rudy Gobert and shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, Heat center Bam Adebayo and small forward Jimmy Butler, Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, Bucks guards Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane, Suns small forward Mikal Bridges, Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray, and Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet all received All-NBA votes. Surprisingly, Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who played in just 29 games this season, also received a single vote.
As we previously outlined, the All-NBA selections come with significant financial ramifications. As a result of being named to All-NBA teams, Booker and Towns have become eligible for super-max extensions that would begin in 2024/25. If they’re signed this offseason, those deals would be for four years and would start at 35% of the ’24/25 cap. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN (via Twitter), they currently project to be worth $211MM apiece.
Young’s five-year contract extension, which was signed last August and will go into effect in 2022/23, will now be worth 30% of next season’s cap instead of 25% by virtue of his All-NBA selection. Based on a projected $122MM cap, that means it’ll be worth about $212MM instead of $177MM.
Jokic had already met the super-max requirements prior to this announcement, since he won last year’s MVP award — he’s eligible to sign a five-year, super-max extension this offseason and has said he plans to do so. Doncic, who signed a maximum-salary contract extension last summer, also previously met the super-max criteria by earning All-NBA nods in 2020 and 2021.
Notable players who are not eligible this offseason for super-max deals include Morant and Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine. As Marks tweets, Morant needs to make the All-NBA team again in 2023 to qualify for a starting salary worth 30% of the cap (instead of 25%) on his next deal.
LaVine, a free agent this offseason, would have been eligible to earn up to 35% of next season’s cap from the Bulls if he had made an All-NBA team, but will instead be able to earn no more than 30% of the ’22/23 cap on his next contract.
With their inclusions, Morant, Booker, and Young are making their All-NBA team debuts. Meanwhile, on the other side of the NBA aging curve, two 37-year-old veterans further cemented their Hall of Fame credentials during the 2021/22 season. James made his 18th All-NBA team, while Paul was named to his 11th All-NBA team.
The Timberwolves‘ interest in longtime Denver executive Tim Connelly was known two weeks ago when a Nuggets traveling party went to Serbia to surprise Nikola Jokic with his MVP award, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. At the time, there was some hope that a new deal between Connelly and the Nuggets could be struck, but Minnesota’s momentum began picking up shortly thereafter.
During the two days between Connelly’s meeting with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor on Saturday and his decision to accept Minnesota’s offer on Monday, there was some hope within the Nuggets’ organization that the Kroenkes might find a way to keep Connelly, according to Singer. The team did make a counter-offer, but there was a “significant gap” between Denver’s offer and Minnesota’s, a source told The Denver Post.
Interestingly, one source with knowledge of the situation told Singer that if the decision on Connelly’s future had been entirely up to Josh Kroenke, Connelly probably wouldn’t have gone anywhere. In other words, it sounds like Josh may have been more willing to step up financially than his father Stan Kroenke, who also let Masai Ujiri walk in a similar situation nine years ago.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Nuggets ownership didn’t learn anything from having nearly lost Connelly to the Wizards in 2019, according to Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com, who argues that Stan Kroenke still doesn’t value his top basketball executives and “skimps on line items that rival organizations would deem as necessities.”
- The Nuggets are on the precipice of championship contention, but they’re not there yet, Singer writes for The Denver Post. The team could badly use at least one more wing defender, Singer notes, adding that it will be interesting to see if general manager Calvin Booth – who is expected to become Denver’s head of basketball operations – will value pieces like Bones Hyland, Zeke Nnaji, and this year’s No. 21 pick any differently than Connelly would have.
- Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer takes his own look at the Nuggets’ offseason to-do list, writing that the club needs to surround Jokic with better shooters and perimeter defenders. O’Connor also suggests that Jokic should wait to see what moves Denver makes before locking in his five-year, super-max extension, but acknowledges that he’d be surprised if the two-time MVP doesn’t sign his new deal early in the offseason.
6:06pm: The Timberwolves have officially named Connelly their president of basketball operations, according to a team press release.
“We are thrilled to announce Tim Connelly as the next leader of our basketball operations department and welcome his family to the Twin Cities,” the team said in a statement attributed to ownership. “He brings a wealth of NBA front office experience with various franchises. We look forward to building upon our most recent playoff run and bringing more success to Timberwolves fans for years to come.”
“My family and I couldn’t be more excited to join the Timberwolves organization,” Connelly said in a statement. “I appreciate Glen, Becky, Marc and Alex’s confidence in me to lead this organization and I can’t wait to get to work to build an elite franchise that our fans can continue to be proud of.”
2:28pm: Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly will be leaving Denver for Minnesota, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that Connelly and the Timberwolves have agreed to a deal that will make him one of the NBA’s highest-paid executives.
Connelly’s new contract as the Wolves’ president of basketball operations will cover five years and will be worth $40MM, per Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The agreement will also include a kicker for ownership equity, The Athletic’s duo adds.
After Timberwolves minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez initiated talks with Connelly and presented him with a preliminary offer, the longtime Nuggets executive flew to Minnesota on Saturday and had a four-hour meeting with majority owner Glen Taylor, according to The Athletic (Twitter link). Taylor signed off on the offer, and Connelly subsequently took two full days to deliberate before accepting the job on Monday.
Connelly had been the head of basketball operations in Denver since 2013, following Masai Ujiri‘s departure for Toronto. He reportedly had a significant impact on the Nuggets’ culture, empowering coaches, staffers, and players while creating a positive work environment.
His loyalty to Denver and his comfort level with Nuggets ownership made it a difficult decision to leave for Minnesota, according to Charania and Krawczynski, who say Connelly’s new contract more than doubles his previous salary — the equity component also makes the deal substantially more lucrative.
Mike Singer of The Denver Post confirms that financial compensation was a significant factor in Connelly’s decision to leave Denver and join a division rival, since he hadn’t been eager to depart. According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the Nuggets made a bid to retain Connelly that would’ve significantly increased his salary, but Woj describes the ownership equity in Minnesota as “life-changing money” for the veteran executive.
The Wolves, who dismissed Gersson Rosas shortly before the 2021/22 season began, had been in the market for a big-name executive to fill the president of basketball operations role on a permanent basis. With Lore and Rodriguez expected to take over majority control of the franchise in 2023, they wanted to “change the narrative” around a team that has often been overlooked nationally, according to Charania and Krawczynski.
Executive VP of basketball operations Sachin Gupta, who ran the Timberwolves’ front office on an interim basis following Rosas’ ouster, remains part of the long-term vision in Minnesota, sources tell The Athletic. While Connelly will likely make some hires of his own, it sounds as if there are no plans to move on from Gupta or head coach Chris Finch, who was previously an assistant coach in Denver.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, are considered likely to promote general manager Calvin Booth to run their front office, Charania reports (via Twitter).
The club has produced a series of successful basketball executives across the last decade, including Ujiri, Connelly, and Arturas Karnisovas, the GM in Denver before leaving to become the Bulls’ president of basketball operations. There’s a belief within the organization that Booth – a rising talent well-respected around the NBA – is capable of carrying that torch going forward, Charania notes.