Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly isn’t interested in playing it safe.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Connelly took aim at NBA executives he считает too cautious when it comes to making major roster moves, arguing that too many front offices are more worried about criticism than chasing a title.
“If it doesn’t work and it’s my job, I’ll get fired. That’s fine. But I don’t ever want to be in a position where we’re reluctant to take big swings.”
Connelly said the league has become overly cautious, with decision-makers focused on how moves will look in the moment rather than on whether they actually help build a contender.
“My industry has become so risk-averse,” Connelly said. “They’re so concerned about real-time analysis (from the media).
… In all reality, either you’re trying to win, or you’re chasing that…Occasionally you can rebuild in the years that present itself when you have a (Victor) Wembanyama or someone like that. But the frustrating thing about our league right now is that too many teams are trying to survive and trying to be in between.”
For Connelly, the mission stays the same until a team wins the whole thing.
“Until you win the championship, you’ve just got to keep shuffling cards,” Connelly said. “I don’t think we can be fear-driven. One of the few upticks of having a team that doesn’t have the proudest history is you shouldn’t be afraid to swing.”
Connelly’s own track record gives him plenty of credibility. He helped make the trade for Aaron Gordon and was part of the group that built the Denver Nuggets team that won the 2023 NBA Finals. In Minnesota, he orchestrated the deal that brought Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves and helped assemble the core that powered two Western Conference Finals runs.
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The latest pivot came after Minnesota fell in the second round in 2026, pushing Connelly to rework the core again by moving Julius Randle and Naz Reid for Ball. With Jaden McDaniels drawing encouraging preseason attention, there is at least some reason to believe the framework around the new-look group can still hold up. Still, the bigger question now is whether this kind of constant reshuffling has finally raised the stakes for everyone in the organization, from the front office down to the players expected to make it work. [Read more 🡒]