What the Nuggets Champion-ship Ring Means for Minnesota: Lessons from Tim Connelly's Journey
Nikola Jokic, adorned with the Bill Russel Finals MVP Award, captured by Ashley Landis/AP.
Although the 2022-23 NBA season has concluded, the Nuggets will be celebrating indefinitely after earning their franchises first NBA Championship. It all began in 2014 when Nikola Jokic, the finals MVP, was drafted to play in Denver, Colorado. Although fans were unsuspecting of his potential, considering it occurred during a commercial break and a Taco Bell ad was playing, General Manager Tim Connelly had an idea of what “The Joker” could become. Connelly led the team from 2014 to 2022, and the team he built was the last one standing come this past June. Now the Timberwolves are considered home for Connelly and he intends to build another championship team here in Minnesota, this time keeping a ring for himself.
When Connelly took over for the Nuggets in 2013 he joined a franchise that had made the playoffs the previous 10 seasons but only ever made it past the first round once, back in 2009, a team headlined by the likes of: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Nene, Kenyon Martin & J.R. Smith. By the time he took control, this starting lineup had become Ty Lawson, Randy Foye, Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried & JJ Hickson. It’s safe to say Connelly had a lot of work to do, but back then it wasn’t customary to move future picks for a star and the roster didn’t have diamonds in the rough to trade, so the draft is where the rebuild began. Promoted 10 days prior to the 2013 NBA Draft Connelly traded out of the first round with Utah netting Erick Green (later retired in 2015) in exchange for Rudy Gobert (later 3x Defensive Player of the Year). First time around wasn’t exactly a homerun, but mistakes are imperative for learning, growth and eventual success. In the next 5 drafts (2014-2018), players such as Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. were selected by Denver (Donovan Mitchell was also selected by DEN in 2017 but traded to UTA on draft night - seeing a theme deal here). A handful of other players were selected in his tenure that have had NBA success, but the point being is that Tim Connelly is a proven pro at finding talent in the draft. For the players, the playoffs are the biggest time of the year, where legacy’s are established. For the front office, the bulk of the pressure comes from draft day to free agency. When it comes to drafting in Barclay’s center for years to come, the Timberwolves should feel confident with Connelly at the helm. Mistakes happen for all general managers: from draft busts, or missing on a player, to making a trade that shouldn’t have happened. Even with these commonalities, the Nuggets were able to build a championship contender.
Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. were found in the draft in 2016 and 2018, but the quest for the perfect frontcourt partner alongside Jokic was harder to accomplish. Once Jokic earned the starting gig in 2016, it was Kenneth Faried lined up next to him. Although “the Manimal” had his rise to fame as a rebounding menace it was obvious the two didn’t have what it takes as a duo. At the end of the 2016-17 season, Connelly went after Paul Millsap in free agency who was fresh off his 4th consecutive All Star appearance. Although past his prime at 32, someone averaging 18p, 8r, 3a and over 2 stocks per game would easily be an upgrade. With a Jokic-Millsap pairing, the Nuggets had found their first winning record in 5 seasons. This pairing brought success, 2nd place in 2017-18 & 3rd place in 2018-19 but with Millsap starting to show his age and the Nuggets committed to finding the perfect match, they made a trade for Jerami Grant to begin the 2019-20 season. This season was by far their most successful under Connelly, placing 3rd in the West again but this time making it to the conference finals. Although they lost in five to the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, the additions of Millsap and Grant proved their worth. Unable to retain Grant in free agency, Connelly made another move, this time for Aaron Gordon. It wasn’t immediate for this new frontcourt to find their chemistry but once they did, the core of Jokic, Gordon, Murray & Porter Jr. brought Denver to their first championship. In the quest for the perfect front court match for Jokic, the Nuggets danced with stars and tripped over a few court jesters but they never stopped playing their cards; they eventually found the right cards to play. Victory came through patience.
While it's imperative for players to develop chemistry and bond as a team, the same level of familiarity and cohesion is equally imperative for the Head Coach position. Recently we have seen 3 of the previous 5 championship winning Head Coaches fired (Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer & Frank Vogel), which I believe has devalued the worth of coaching to some NBA fans. The truth is just the opposite and Denver was the perfect example.
Michael Malone’s coaching success as Nuggets HC from 2015 to now.
The Nuggets job was the second professional head coaching gig of his career, and by far the more successful Being the only Nuggets coach to bring the team to a conference championship series twice. Looking at the beginning of his tenure in Denver, it was a different story. 9 out of 10 times, a coach will not have this long of a rope in today’s NBA. Connelly stood beside Malone both when they couldn’t make the playoffs and when eliminated from the playoffs. The Nuggets had opportunities to fire their Coach multiple times. One could argue anytime during their playoff drought but the popular option was after the Game 7 loss to Portland in the 2019 WCSF. Coach stayed in charge and was able to build unity throughout the core of the team, creating a perfect flow around the Joker. Only 3 NBA active coaches have been on their respective teams longer: Popovich (Spurs since ‘96), Spoelstra (Heat since ‘08) & Kerr (Warriors since ‘14) - what do these four have in common? Chris Finch ranked 13th on this list and if playoff success for Minnesota is to come, we can expect him to rise closer to these championship winning coaches. The blueprint for this team is to build continuity amongst the players but most importantly from the Head Coach and his roster. Once again, victory comes through patience.
The post game presser after the game 5 victory, certainly had its insights from Nikola Jokic.
“If you want to be successful, you need a couple years,” he began. “You need to be bad, then you need to be good. Then when you’re good, you need to fail. Then when you fail, you’re going to figure it out… but there is a process …there’s steps you need to fulfill. There is no shortcuts, it’s a journey and I’m glad I’m part of the journey.”
Putting this quote in terms of the Minnesota Timberwolves can be quite simple. Since drafting Karl-Anthony Towns they have been bad. Since drafting Anthony Edwards, they have been good. Since being good, they have seen failure and injuries. Now it’s time to figure it out. Anthony Edwards could become the generational talent Jokic has proven to be. If the coaching staff and core of the roster can grow together, it presents the best chance that stars may align for the Timberwolves.
Minnesota possesses limited future draft capital, but if the D’angelo Russell trade proved anything it’s that Connelly will find picks, three 2nd round picks in this case, whenever possible. On the margin deals like these will be paramount for building through the draft. Looking at the reason why there is a lack of draft selections points to the Rudy Gobert trade. Believing that new owners pushed hard for a big trade is a newly common opinion. Although Connelly had much to do with the move, fans cannot solely point the blame towards the front office. Nevertheless the Timberwolves will look to draft well and make smart trades in order to reach the heights that the Nuggets have. As Jokic said, “there is no shortcuts, it’s a journey,” and this is the beginning of a new journey. This time he gets to build around Anthony Edwards, a player that has athletic shades of Michael Jordan with the range of Klay Thompson. Jaden McDaniels will be here for the long haul besides him. Fans would like to see Naz Reid, Josh Minott and Nickeil Alexander-Walker join the core as well. When the Nuggets looked towards the future in 2013, they had Randy Foye, Andre Miller, Timothy Mozgov and Ty Lawson as trade bait and figured it out. Imagine the possibilities of dealing Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert or Luka Garza! I am confident no trade will be made this summer unless the value in return merits a move. Looking at the 2024-25 season, I would expect a change in the frontcourt unless the Timberwolves are playing late in May of next year. Nevertheless, like in Denver, Connelly will continually add pieces to the puzzle in hopes that they are the right fit for ANT.
The Nuggets ring is a glowing beacon of inspiration for the Timberwolves, illuminating the path to their own championship dreams. Tim Connelly brought the Nuggets from a team deep in the rough to mere feet from the pin. His replacement, Calvin Booth, made some great moves don’t get me wrong. Drafting Christian Braun, trading for KCP and signing Bruce Brown but let’s not pretend it was a miraculous putt. The Rudy Gobert trade may have made it tricky at first, but what are the odds someone can go 0-for-3 in trades with a single franchise? There’s trades on the table, there are moves to be made, did the NBA purposely muck up the Timberwolves chances of success with the new CBA rules? Probably. Is this the first time Minnesota has been screwed by the NBA? No. Maybe the Joe Smith deal has since cursed Minnesota and it’ll stay cursed in Target Center forever… Which is why A-Rod/Lore want a new stadium, I get it now…
