Tim Connelly referenced studying team-building in different leagues as the Minnesota Timberwolves manage their roster in a new collective bargaining agreement environment with a more punitive system. Last week, the Wolves agreed to trade Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks as he enters Year 1 of a four-year, $224 million supermax extension in what many suspect was one to give them more roster and financial flexibility.
“I mean the new rules are … some of the consequences are unintended, quite frankly,” Connelly said. “I don’t know if anyone intended to make it this challenging to make moves, to make trades when you’re above certain aprons. But you gotta be smart, you gotta be lucky, you gotta hit on some of your draft picks and then I think you have to, as much as possible, build teams that can stay together for multiple years.
“Because I think there will be a lot of turnover just because of the finances becoming rapidly so big for some of these teams. I don’t know if it’ll be exactly like the NFL, but we’ve studied different leagues, we’ve studied the NFL extensively, how they’ve kind of done those things.”
Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150.3 million extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason and spoke on it publicly for the first time during the team’s media day availability on Monday.
“I can come in here now and breathe,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell was traded to the Cavaliers by the Utah Jazz in 2022 and had been followed by questions about his future given the fact that his new team wasn’t on his list of preferred trade destinations.
“This is my first media day in probably three years where I don’t have people asking me what does it take for me to stay somewhere?” Mitchell said. “Don’t understate how it becomes a lot. Not even just [for] myself but my teammates and to answer these questions because that’s a real thing, too.”
Mitchell was also asked why Cleveland has become home for him.
“Why not?” he said. “I love it here.”
