Behind the scenes of Tim Connelly’s mega deal to the Timberwolves

Long overlooked, often doubted, the Minnesota Timberwolves made a statement Monday.

The Timberwolves signed Denver Nuggets president Tim Connelly to a major deal that will make him one of the most well-compensated executives in the league, immediately becoming a defining maneuver of the new-look ownership group. 

The deal is a five-year, $40 million contract plus a kicker for equity, multiple sources told The Athletic, a rare package for an executive. Connelly met with Timberwolves minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez in recent days and then flew to Minnesota on Saturday to meet majority owner Glen Taylor for the final step toward becoming the new president of basketball operations for the Wolves.

Connelly took almost two full days to deliberate, then accepted the offer on Monday in a landmark move for a franchise that has routinely been overlooked on the NBA landscape. Coming off its first playoff appearance in four seasons and with building blocks Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards on the roster, the Wolves made an aggressive move to lure one of the top executives in the league away from a division rival.

“My family and I couldn’t be more excited to join the Timberwolves organization,” Connelly said in a statement issued by the team. “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.”

Under Connelly’s leadership, the Nuggets have made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, including the Western Conference finals in 2020. He drafted Nikola Jokić in the second round and hired coach Michael Malone in 2015, saw Jokić blossom into a two-time MVP and built a deep roster around him that included draft hits Jamal Murray, Monte Morris, Bones Hyland and Michael Porter Jr. 

That eye for talent and development, coupled with a reputation as being an outgoing and gregarious leader, piqued the interest of Lore and Rodriguez. They got things started in the negotiations, showing an urgency to build on the success the Timberwolves had in their first season in the ownership group. Within 12 hours of their initial meeting with Connelly, they presented him with an offer to let him know they were serious about moving forward. The next step was getting final approval from Taylor. 

Throughout the first year of Lore’s and Rodriguez’s tenure as co-owners with the Timberwolves, Taylor has shown significant desire to elevate the franchise’s stature. Taylor, Lore and Rodriguez worked hand-in-hand toward the completion of Connelly’s deal, culminating in a four-hour meeting on Saturday at Taylor’s home in Mankato, about a 90-minute drive from Minneapolis. Connelly, his wife, Negah, and two young children met with Taylor, his wife, Becky, CEO Ethan Casson and COO Ryan Tanke to get a feel for each other and get the final go-ahead, sources said.

“This is such an important hire for the organization and our fans. We are confident that Tim’s leadership will be a major part of our continued growth and future success,” Casson said in the statement.

The new contract more than doubles his salary with the Nuggets, sources said, and the equity component is a unique structure within the NBA that potentially makes the deal far more lucrative. Lore and Rodriguez, the partners who plan on succeeding Taylor as majority owners in 2023, knew the Timberwolves had to push hard to offer a compensation package that would get Connelly to leave a city he loves, an ownership group he trusts and a team he built over the last nine years into a potential Western Conference contender next season. 

Lore and Rodriguez have been determined to change the narrative around the Timberwolves and inject some energy into a team that hasn’t spent much time on the national radar. One of their first initiatives, dating back to their arrival last summer, was to ensure they had a top flight lead executive for the president of basketball operations.

Taylor wants to make sure his final years in control of the team have the best chance to be successful, so he made the request with Nuggets ownership to speak to Connelly several weeks ago. Connelly traveled to Serbia to present Jokić with his MVP trophy, but once he got back and engaged with Lore and Rodriguez, things got rolling.

Connelly has a strong connection to Denver and to the organization, particularly to team president and chairman Josh Kroenke, son of owner Stan Kroenke. His fingerprints are all over the roster and the coaching staff, and that loyalty made the decision to leave an exceedingly difficult one, sources said. He spent much of Saturday and all day Sunday with his family contemplating the move before ultimately signing off on leaving a team he joined in 2013 after Masai Ujiri left for Toronto.

As the Nuggets emerged as contenders — a label that was compromised this season only by injuries to Murray and…