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The Denver Nuggets are an anomaly. Mike Malone's team is 39-18, just two games back of the Golden State Warriors for first place in the Western Conference. Unlike this updated version of Golden State, though, Denver is a team built mostly through the draft, with multiple players – including long-shot MVP candidate Nikola Jokic – wildly outplaying expectations based on where they were selected. Paul Millsap and Will Barton are the only players among the Nuggets' top nine who weren't acquired in the draft.
Undoubtedly taking that sterling record of talent evaluation into account, Denver has agreed to terms with president of basketball operations Tim Connelly on a contract extension, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Denver Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, architect of one of the NBA’s most impressive recent rebuilds, has agreed to a contract extension, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 15, 2019
Connelly and team owner Josh Kroenke reportedly began discussions on a contract extension in the last several weeks. Otherwise, Connelly's deal would have expired at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season.
Connelly first entered the league as a scouting intern for the Washington Wizards as a college student in 1996. He became a full-time scout four years later, ultimately being promoted to director of player personnel. Connelly joined the front office of the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019, serving as assistant general manager to Dell Demps, who was fired on Friday. In 2013, he replaced Masai Ujiri as Denver's general manager, ceding that title to Arturas Karnisovas in the summer of 2017 after receiving a promotion to his current title.
The Nuggets aren't just one of the league's best teams this season, but Connelly has positioned them as a force for years to come.
