If on the field side, Rudy Gobert was the flagship summer recruit of the wolves, Tim Connelly is its equivalent in offices.
Arrived at the head of the Minneapolis club in May, after almost ten years in Denver where he was the architect of the Nikola Jokic era, the leader opened a new chapter in his career last spring, taking charge of a team ambitious, just eliminated after a memorable series against the Grizzlies, in the first round of the playoffs.
His first major sporting decision was obviously to negotiate, with the Jazz, the transfer of the French pivot to the lake region, to launch an ambitious project for an XXL racket with Karl-Anthony Towns.
Nearly six months and forty games later, the results are not up to expectations since the Wolves point to a disappointing record of 17 wins for 21 defeats, synonymous with 11th place only in the Western Conference. Tim Connelly even spoke at the beginning of December to ask for more patience for his project.
Difficult, therefore, for the time being, to be really enthusiastic about the success of the new sporting boss of Wolves after his first six months in his new job, even if the season is of course still long.
The latter can in any case count on unfailing support: that of Mike Malone. The Nuggets coach, beaten last night by Wolves to end their six-game losing streak, worked hand in hand with Tim Connelly for almost seven years, from his arrival in Colorado in 2015 until at the departure of the leader last May, the two men building an ambitious project in Denver, propelled by the hatching and the dazzling development of Nikola Jokic, on track this season to be MVP for the third year in a row.
A sense of responsibility, the recipe for success
Better than anyone, he therefore knows that his former superior knows how to do it when it comes to building a project.
” I’m sure no one in Minnesota is happy with the product in the field right now. » he said thus. ” But complaining isn’t going to help keep your head above water. On the contrary, it will only make things worse. [À Denver], in these situations, Tim was the one who managed to get the team out of this negative spiral. It’s in his DNA. »
Leader by nature, therefore, Tim Connelly, according to Mike Malone, has always been able to stay the course in his projects because he has always imposed a high level of responsibility in the actions of everyone, including himself, at all levels of an NBA franchise.
” We could have open and honest conversations, we held ourselves accountable for our choices, we challenged each other to do our jobs better. continues the former Kings coach. ” But we knew each other that it was nothing personal. I never felt he was attacking me, and vice versa, because we were just pulling each other up. Not just for our benefit, but for the entire franchise. »
So, while Wolves have been navigating somewhat in troubled waters since the start of the 2022/23 financial year, Tim Connelly is undoubtedly the one who will be able to keep the boat afloat, for Mike Malone.
” It won’t destabilize him “Concluded the technician of the Nuggets, about the disappointing first part of the season of Wolves. ” First, he will push himself to his limits, to do better. Then he will push everyone around him to their limits. To do better of course, but also to make sure to stay positive. And as strange as it may seem, over the course of a long season, he will find a way to bring lightness and humor to a situation. Which is necessary, I think. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Anthony Edwards | 37 | 36.9 | 46.4 | 36.8 | 73.7 | 0.7 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 23.9 |
| Karl Anthony Towns | 21 | 33.8 | 50.5 | 32.5 | 88.5 | 1.7 | 6.5 | 8.2 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 20.8 |
| D’angelo Russell | 35 | 32.8 | 45.8 | 34.9 | 84.2 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 6.5 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 17.0 |
| Rudy Gobert | 31 | 31.3 | 67.1 | 0.0 | 67.6 | 3.5 | 8.4 | 11.9 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 13.6 |
| Jaylen Nowell | 37 | 20.1 | 43.0 | 30.1 | 78.6 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 11.5 |
| Jaden Mcdaniels | 34 | 30.7 | 51.9 | 36.9 | 76.9 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 11.2 |
| Naz Reid | 31 | 18.1 | 54.6 | 36.0 | 63.6 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 10.6 |
| Taurean Prince | 18 | 19.5 | 49.5 | 38.9 | 86.4 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 7.9 |
| Kyle Anderson | 27 | 24.6 | 47.0 | 37.5 | 79.7 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 7.4 |
| austin rivers | 27 | 19.7 | 45.4 | 39.3 | 88.0 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 5.3 |
| Jordan McLaughlin | 18 | 15.9 | 42.4 | 23.5 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 4.1 |
| Luka Garza | 8 | 5.5 | 61.1 | 0.0 | 90.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 3.9 |
| Bryn Forbes | 21 | 10.6 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 3.2 |
| Nathan Knight | 17 | 4.9 | 71.4 | 25.0 | 73.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 2.5 |
| matt ryan | 9 | 6.7 | 31.8 | 29.4 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
| Wendell Moore, Jr. | 16 | 6.0 | 46.4 | 16.7 | 80.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.0 |
| Aj Lawson | 1 | 1.8 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Josh Minott | 6 | 2.5 | 60.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.7 |
