The Timberwolves are finalizing a deal with Magic executive Matt Lloyd that will make him the senior vice president of basketball operations in Minnesota, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Lloyd, who had been the VP of basketball operations in Orlando, will be the first major hire for new Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.
Lloyd began his basketball executive career with the Bulls, earning a full-time role in 1999 and spending 13 years with the organization, eventually receiving a promotion to director of college scouting. He was hired as an assistant general manager by the Magic in 2012 and was responsible for overseeing the team’s professional, college, and international scouting departments. He briefly served as interim GM in 2017 between the dismissal of Rob Hennigan and the hiring of Jeff Weltman.
According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Lloyd is highly regarded around the NBA for his “tenacity and connections on the scouting trail and relationships with teams and agents in deal-making.” He’ll join an increasingly impressive Timberwolves front office that also still features high-ranking veteran executive Sachin Gupta, who was Minnesota’s interim head of basketball operations for the 2021-22 season.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report first said last week that Lloyd was a potential target for Connelly and the Wolves.
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