Tim Connelly in as new Nuggets GM; Another cheap hire by Josh Kroenke?
Masai Ujiri was a young man when he was hired, and was paid the lowest salary in the NBA. While he taught us that was no indicator of success, it seems as if Josh Kroenke may have done something similar with the hiring of Tim Connelly.
Josh Kroenke has made one of the two most important hires he’s ever made, and it’s a guy you’ve likely never heard of; Tim Connelly.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing – you never heard of Masai Ujiri when he was given the job, and neither had I – look how well that turned out. Ujiri was a player personnel prodigy, able to get the most in return for a superstar in possibly the history of the league. He completely reshaped and re-sculpted the Nuggets in his image, only to see greener pastures in Toronto.
After the fact, Kroenke told us all that Ujiri didn’t want to come back to Denver – rated the sixth-best American city by Bloomberg last year – because going back to Toronto was too alluring.
Kroenke said Ujiri told him not to match the Raptors’ contract offer because the African native very much wanted to return to his basketball home. Of course, that offer was six times – six times – the amount Ujiri was being paid by Kroenke Sports Enterprises, or a mere $500,000 per year. This, as payment for the NBA’s reigning Executive of the Year?
Kroenke’s a young man, at only 33 years old, and it was clear he wanted another youthful executive to share the bargaining table with him. Ujiri was only 40 when he was hired as Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2010, and although he was a talented basketball mind, his age meant the Nuggets wouldn’t have to pay him much. In fact, Ujiri’s $500,000 salary was the lowest in the NBA.
Now he’s turned around and done basically the same thing with new Nuggets’ General Manager Tim Connelly, a 36-year old, who is regarded by some in the league as a rising talent.
While there’s no report on what Connelly will earn in the Mile High City, my best guess says his salary will be anything but a mile high. It would continue a trend, one in which KSE has become known for being cheap when it comes to paying front office executives, allowing them to leave after finally getting their systems and players in place.
But if Ujiri taught us anything, it’s that salary isn’t necessarily an indicator of future returns.
What we do know of Connelly is this; he’s spent nearly half of his life working in the NBA and other teams were interested in signing him as their GM before Kroenke pounced. Adrian Wojnarowski reports Flip Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves wanted Connelly, a positive sign that those inside the NBA have a building respect for the new Nuggets GM.
Connelly’s first NBA job came when he was only 19, working with Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards. He then went back to school and became a graduate of Catholic University in 1999, before being hired back on by the Wizards as an assistant video coordinator and moved up to become their Director of Player Personnel. In that role, he was the head of scouting, while also being in charge of salary cap and database management, player evaluation and assisting then-VP of Player Personnel Tommy Sheppard on day-to-day front office duties.
In 2010, the New Orleans Hornets hired him on as Assistant General Manager to Dell Demps, a position he held for the last three years.
Even though he has a long basketball history, there are a few question marks on that journey. First of all, learning from Jordan in the front office isn’t consequentially a good thing. While Jordan was one of the greatest players in the history of the league, he was infamously one of the worst players-turned-executives at the time. More recently, Connelly has been a major contributor to the arguably the worst team in the NBA, the Hornets (now Pelicans). New Orleans’ 21-45 record during the 2011-12 season was the second-worst that year, and they landed the No. 1 draft pick of Anthony Davis. This year, they weren’t much better at 27-55, even with Davis on the roster.
Now, Kroenke and Connelly will reportedly meet tonight to discuss Nuggets coaching candidates, as Brian Shaw is scheduled to interview Tuesday, Lionel Hollins on Wednesday.
Kroenke has already made one major decision – even if he does likely have final say when it comes to front office matters – and his next one at head coach will be even more important. Hopefully, for Nuggets fans, it’s not another cheap move.
