The Minnesota Timberwolves are still recovering from a brutal loss in the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, but they did get some good news about their future on Monday.
General manager Tim Connelly seemed to confirm that he would be in Minnesota for the long haul amid rumors that he could be on the move, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
“(Minnesota) feels like home,” Connelly said, via Krawczynski. “I think you guys are stuck with me.”
Throughout the back half of the season, Connelly has repeatedly shut down any rumors that he could be headed out of town, and he did so again on Monday. That should give Minnesota fans a lot of optimism that he will be sticking around.
Connelly has done a very good job of building this Timberwolves roster into a consistent contender around Anthony Edwards. Of course, one of the first things he did after coming over from his stint with the Denver Nuggets was make the huge trade for Rudy Gobert, which has solidified the Minnesota defense.
Article Continues BelowConnelly also pulled off the shocking trade for Julius Randle that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks just before this season. While the fit with Randle was rocky at times, the Kentucky product came up with the goods time and time again during the Timberwolves' wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs.
The Minnesota general manager does have his work cut out for him this offseason in order to avoid his squad taking a step back this offseason. Randle, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are all free agents this offseason, so Connelly has some tough decisions to make with his money.
Retaining Randle will certainly be a priority for the Timberwolves considering everything that they gave up to get him, but they could go in a number of directions after that.
Regardless, Minnesota fans can take a deep breath knowing that Connelly is going to still be the one pulling the strings for the Timberwolves.