Amid ownership battle, NBA insider notes Tim Connelly has contract opt-out
Connelly joined Minnesota in May 2022
Could off court turmoil in the organization lead to the exit of one of the Timberwolves' best assets?
The Athletic's Sham Charania has fueled doubts about how long President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly will remain in Minnesota.
"I'm told Tim Connelly has an opt-out in his contract after the season," Charania said on Thursday's episode of Run It Back. "So, after Year 2, it was supposed to line up with this ownership transfer with Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore taking this team over."
Connelly joined the Wolves in May 2024 on a five-year, $40 million contract as Lore and A-Rod's first big moves. He was the focus of speculation last spring when the Washington Wizards were looking for a new president of basketball operations and he twice refused to definitively shut the door on the speculation.
"This is obviously someone the Wolves can't afford to lose and the whole NBA is aware that, Tim Connelly, in theory, could be a free agent and leave the Timberwolves. But they could also rip his deal up and give him a new extension this offseason," Charania said.
Connelly's future in Minnesota is once again being questioned because of the turmoil among the ownership of the franchise. On March 28, majority owner Glen Taylor released a statement saying the sale of the Timberwolves was off.
Taylor was in the process of a protracted sale of the Wolves and Lynx to Rodriguez and Lore when he pulled out of the deal stating, the duo had missed the deadline to complete the sale. Lore and Rodriguez have disputed that claim. The process is now in limbo while arbitration is set to settle the matter.
Rodriguez claimed that Taylor was initially against the he and Lore pursuing Connelly. In an interview on Dane Moore's podcast, Rodriguez recounted an alleged discussion with Taylor saying, "His quote to Mark and I was, 'Why are you wasting your time? People like Tim Connelly do not come here. Okay?' We said 'Let us take a crack at it.' Mark and I went to work on it. Three months later, we're having a press conference at a practice facility."
Minnesota is currently second place in the Western Conference with just two games remaining this season. The Wolves host the Hawks Friday night with tipoff set for 7:10 p.m.
