{"id":692192,"date":"2026-04-01T16:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/692192\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:34:13","slug":"wolves-prepared-to-stiff-arm-mavs-tim-connelly-theft-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/692192\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolves prepared to stiff-arm Mavs’ Tim Connelly theft efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> are expected to firmly resist any attempt<\/a> by the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> to pursue president of basketball operations Tim Connelly<\/a>, as Dallas begins its search for a new general manager<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to Marc Stein, league belief suggests Dallas would have strong interest in Connelly if he were to become available following the season. However, Minnesota is reportedly intent on retaining him and is working toward a long-term extension after consecutive trips to the Western Conference finals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is likewise believed that Dallas would have strong interest in Minnesota’s Tim Connelly if Connelly were to leave the Timberwolves at season’s end as some rival teams have forecasted,\u201d Stein wrote. \u201cThe Mavericks recently hired former Wolves executive Ethan Casson as their new team president on the business side, establishing Casson as a natural advocate for Connelly. The Wolves, though, are said to be eager to hammer out a long-term extension with Connelly after back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas\u2019 interest in Connelly is part of a broader search for a new lead executive following the firing of Nico Harrison earlier this season<\/a>. The Mavericks are reportedly targeting high-profile candidates as they attempt to reshape their front office and direction.<\/p>\n

Mavs cast wide net for front office leader as Timberwolves hold firm on Tim Connelly<\/p>\n

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported that multiple top executives are on Dallas\u2019 radar, including Oklahoma City\u2019s Sam Presti<\/a>, Minnesota\u2019s Connelly and Boston\u2019s Brad Stevens, along with Cleveland\u2019s Koby Altman.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the dust settles on the Mavericks\u2019 season, interest is building in who will lead Dallas in the next one,\u201d Mannix wrote. \u201cArmed with Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving and another high lottery pick, the Mavs\u2019 top front office job is an appealing one. And I\u2019m told that Patrick Dumont, the team\u2019s governor, is aiming high. Among the names on Dumont\u2019s wish list, per league sources: Oklahoma City executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti, Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and Boston president Brad Stevens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCleveland top exec Koby Altman\u2019s name is also in the mix, a source said. Jason Kidd has had conversations throughout the season about transitioning to a front office role, sources say, though the Mavericks appear more inclined\u2014for now\u2014to keep Kidd on the bench to continue the development of Flagg.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Dallas\u2019 reported interest, Minnesota\u2019s stance signals little willingness to entertain losing Connelly, who has played a central role in building the Timberwolves into a Western Conference contender.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks, meanwhile, enter the final stretch of the season with a 24\u201352 record, sitting 13th in the Western Conference standings. The disappointing campaign follows the fallout from last February\u2019s blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>, a move that reshaped the franchise\u2019s trajectory.<\/p>\n

Dallas will look to close out the season on a stronger note, hosting the Orlando Magic (40\u201335) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. PT before welcoming Doncic and the Lakers (50\u201326) on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.<\/p>\n

The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to firmly resist any attempt by the Dallas Mavericks to pursue president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, as Dallas begins its search for a new general manager. According to Marc Stein, league belief suggests Dallas would have strong interest in Connelly if he were to become available following the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to firmly resist any attempt by the Dallas Mavericks to pursue president of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[7,149,307,152,3954,6,6050,1540,591,3994,308],"class_list":["post-692192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-basketball","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-minnesotatimberwolves","tag-nba","tag-nba-rumors","tag-nba-stories","tag-nico-harrison","tag-tim-connelly","tag-timberwolves"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116330421514182934","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}