'You're stuck with me': Connelly talks future, McDaniels' rise, draft trades

Tim Connelly is as much of a free agent as Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but while it's unclear where Alexander-Walker will wind up, the future of Connelly appears to be in Minnesota.

The Timberwolves president of basketball operations held his season-ending press conference on Monday and made it fairly clear that Minnesotans are "stuck" with him.

"Super happy here. It's been great. Not just as working with the team, but the whole community. It feels like home. I think you guys are stuck with me," Connelly said.

Connelly has helped construct a roster that has gone to back-to-back Western Conference Finals. While he doesn't get credit for drafting Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels in 2020, he did orchestrate the Rudy Gobert blockbuster that also brought Alexander-Walker to the team — and he pulled off last summer's Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo deal that has set the team up for more flexibility this summer.

What's next on Connelly's agenda? He's already doing pre-draft work before the June 25 NBA Draft, and free agency begins on July 6. Two guys that, based on Connelly's glowing words, who appear to be the building blocks of everything Minnesota is doing going forward, are superstar Anthony Edwards and budding star Jaden McDaniels.

"We don't feel like there's a tremendous pressure to do much, but until your'e raising the trophy you've gotta be active and creative as possible to try to get to a point, where at some point you're the final team," Connelly said, noting that "the goal is to keep everybody."

Alexander-Walker is an unrestricted free agent, and it's possible that Randle and Naz Reid opt out of their player options and become free agents. Edwards obviously isn't going anywhere, but McDaniels is often involved in armchair GM trade ideas. Either Connelly is a heckuva a salesman, or he legitimately thinks McDaniels is going to continue improving until he reaches an elite level.

"I think the sky's the limit. I think he's one of the best young players in the NBA. His mid-range game is unbelievable under-appreciated. His ability to get shots," Connelly said of McDaniels. "Defensively, there's not a better young defensive wing in the NBA. He's already really, really good, but we think he's got a chance to be great."

Connelly did admit that he'll be willing to trade this year's draft picks — Nos. 17 and 31 — for rotational players who can contribute right away.

"If we can add a clear rotation piece using those picks, we'd be all over it. We're also very encouraged and excited about the guys that are going to be there. We don't see a lot of separation between 17 and 31," Connelly said.

Connelly wants a team that takes better care of the basketball and is better at the end of games next season.

"This year, the biggest problem was clutch minutes. We were a really good 46-minute team and we struggled mightily in the clutch. I thought we were a really good defensive team. We weren't as dominant for consistent periods as we were last year, but if you can find yourself in the top 10 of offense and defensive efficiency, you can look yourself in the mirror say hey, we've got a real chance to make a run," he said.

As for the turnovers, he blamed a lot of Minnesota's issues on having Edwards, who turned 23 during the season, being tasked with commanding the offense at such a young age.

"That's just wisdom and seeing more basketball," Connelly said of the unforced turnover issue. "So I think some of it will come, which is natural maturation — specifically of Ant and Jaden."

What can we conclude from Connelly's presser? For starters, we should expect him to sign a contract extension in the near future. After that, roster construction and big decisions will come, but one of them doesn't appear to be using McDaniels as a trade chip.

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