In an interview Friday with WCCO radio's Chad Hartman, the Wolves president addressed the vacant Washington Wizards job, which he had interest in previously.

By Chris Hine

May 5, 2023 at 9:15PM

Tim Connelly (Alex Kormann, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

When the Wizards fired President/GM Tommy Sheppard on April 19, Timberwolves President Tim Connelly came up almost instantly in NBA circles as a potential candidate for the job.

He is from Baltimore, got his start in the NBA with Washington and turned the job down in 2019 to remain with the Nuggets. Over two weeks since Sheppard's firing, the Wizards are still in search mode for their new head of basketball operations. Until they name someone, Connelly is likely to face questions about the job.

That happened Friday when Connelly appeared on WCCO with host Chad Hartman, who asked Connelly about the job in his first question, and if Connelly would stay with the Wolves no matter what.

"I'm just totally focused on the Timberwolves," Connelly said. "Trying to get us better. We didn't do better than last year, so we have to figure out how to make this team better. Just left the office watching draft videos. So, all eyes are on the Timberwolves and how we can make this team better. Hopefully, next time we have this conversation it won't be this early in the season."

Hartman asked a follow-up after saying Connelly wasn't directly answering his first question. Could Connelly say he was going to be the Wolves president next season?

"That's certainly the plan," Connelly said. "That's why we came here, moved here. We had a lot of unfinished business. It's been a really fun year, on and off the court, and we're fully committed to being a Timberwolf."

It's similar to what Connelly said at the Wolves' exit interviews following the playoff loss to the Nuggets when asked about interest in the Wizards job.

"I'm pretty committed to the Minnesota Timberwolves right now," Connelly said April 27. "It's been a long, long time since we got out of the first round. I think [Coach Chris] Finch and I are pretty excited. Meeting with the guys, we're really excited about the foundation pieces we have here, and just keep building."

Connelly also addressed the impending free agency of center Naz Reid, and reiterated Reid is a big part of the team's plans moving forward. Reid could seek a larger role with more minutes elsewhere, but the Wolves may be able to offer more money than most teams because they have Reid's "Bird Rights" on his contract.

"We're not going to sign a guy like Naz to the contract we're trying to get done without a clear path for him to play a lot and be a huge impact piece for us," Connelly said. "There's only so many dollars to spend. We wouldn't commit the type of contract he's going to demand to a guy we think would be anything less than a heavy rotation guy."