{"id":712215,"date":"2026-04-17T05:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712215\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T05:55:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:55:00","slug":"denver-nuggets-minnesota-timberwolves-connections-run-deeper-than-recent-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712215\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves connections run deeper than recent history"},"content":{"rendered":"

The connections between the Nuggets and Timberwolves go deeper than the current crop of players, coaches and executives who have moved between Minnesota and Denver in the last handful of years.<\/p>\n

The Adelman family and Elston Turner, a Timberwolves assistant, go way back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my dad\u2019s lead assistant forever,\u201d Nuggets assistant David Adelman said after Thursday\u2019s practice at Ball Arena. \u201cHow Elston Turner never was a head coach is a crime. He was a lead assistant for so many teams that won so many games, great human being, players trust him. Not everything makes sense in this business, but (he\u2019s) a great man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DenverDenver Nuggets head coach David Adelman watches play against the Utah Jazz during the first half of an NBA basketball game April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo\/Rob Gray)<\/p>\n

There are a couple of other members of the Timberwolves organization the Nuggets know well. Nikola Jokic and Minnesota assistant Micah Nori developed a relationship at Summer League roughly a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always made me run the lines, and I didn\u2019t get the ball from him. He didn\u2019t trust me at all. He always wants to take all the credit for my success right now,\u201d Jokic said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMicah\u2019s a really good guy. He\u2019s a funny guy. His whole family is really funny. He\u2019s a good guy to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MinnesotaMinnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori, left, and head coach Chris Finch stand on the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder Feb. 13, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo\/Abbie Parr)<\/p>\n

Then, there\u2019s Tim Connelly. The Timberwolves\u2019 president of basketball operations drafted Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. He also orchestrated the trade that brought Aaron Gordon to Denver and completed the core of Denver\u2019s first championship roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cTim\u2019s a really close friend. Tim\u2019s one of the reasons I was here,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of connections.\u201d<\/p>\n

The connections continue with Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, who spent a season on Michael Malone\u2019s staff in 2016-17, and Bones Hyland, whom Connelly drafted in Denver. When it looked like Hyland was on his way out of the league, Connelly offered a lifeline via a two-way contract with Minnesota last season. Hyland made the most of the opportunity, earning a standard roster spot and appearing in 71 regular-season games. He averaged 8.5 points and shot 39% from 3-point range this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got Bones in there, so they\u2019ve got some scoring,\u201d Aaron Gordon said of his former teammate. \u201cNaz (Reid), too, can shoot it. It\u2019s a good team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MinnesotaMinnesota Timberwolves guard Bones Hyland (8) drives past Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) in the second half of an NBA basketball game March 1 in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n

It was a one-way road from Denver to Minnesota until this offseason. Jon Wallace joined the Nuggets in 2019 as a basketball operations associate and later became the Nuggets\u2019 scouting coordinator before leaving to become Minnesota\u2019s director of player personnel. Now, he\u2019s back in Denver as executive vice president of player personnel, leading the Nuggets\u2019 front office alongside Ben Tenzer.<\/p>\n

The level of familiarity has made for quite a competitive rivalry. The Nuggets won three of the four regular-season meetings this season, but the Timberwolves swept Denver the year before. The two teams split the regular-season series in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets eliminated the Timberwolves in five games in a first-round series in 2023. The next year, Minnesota erased a 20-point deficit in Game 7 to end Denver\u2019s dreams of repeating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a team you see a lot. It\u2019s a team that we\u2019ve had a couple of good series with. Obviously, they got us last in a tough game,\u201d Nuggets guard Christian Braun said Wednesday. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get them back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelman said he and Connelly exchanged text messages a week or two ago, but communication is on hold for a while, even for old family friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s weird to shake their hands after the series, because you know those guys so well,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of (like) \u2018See you in a couple of weeks.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n