The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed Tim Connelly to be the next President of Basketball Operations. Here’s why this was a great move for the Wolves.

Connelly will be one of the most compensated executives in the NBA after accepting this deal. The former POBO of the Denver Nuggets will be making roughly $40 million over the next five years, with ownership equity as well.

This is a huge move for the Timberwolves, and something we fans will have to get used to. Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are set to take over the franchise in the next year or two, and their M.O. is to go big and take risks.

Signing Connelly is a big risk because they’re giving away a sliver of ownership and a shit ton of money. ARod and Lore haven’t taken over as majority owners, but this will still be less money for them moving forward.

Sachin Gupta is highly regarded around the league, and he would not have cost the Wolves anywhere near $40 million or even a sliver of ownership. This move will also drive other POBOs to ask for a piece of ownership equity as well.

Nonetheless, Connelly is one of the best in the league. Just look at his track record with the NBA Draft. How many players ended up leaving Denver because they simply couldn’t keep everyone – imagine having that problem.

Connelly drafted players like Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Jusuf Nurkić and Gary Harris. The list goes on, and there’s a reason the Nuggets have been good for so many years.

He’s also really good at setting a culture, and he’s made Denver one of the best-run organizations in the NBA. After Jokic won MVP, Connelly went to Serbia to celebrate with him. There’s a different vibe in the Mile High City, and it’s a tight-knit group of people there.

One thing he could be better at is making trades. If you listened to Dane Moore’s podcast with Adam Mares of DNVR Sports, Mares talks about Connelly holding onto players too long. That’s because he’s gotten too close with his players, and if you look back historically, the Nuggets should have moved on from guys sooner.

Not every trade he’s made has been bad, but it’s an area he needs to work on. If the Timberwolves can convince Gupta to stay onboard as their No. 2, then they will have covered all their bases.

Bringing in Connelly is a big risk, but they’re also gaining one of the best POBOs in the entire NBA. This is a man who can shape the future of this franchise and turn this Timberwolves team into a contender as he did with the Nuggets.