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In the quiet of an empty gymnasium at a nearly century-old private high school in the Chicago suburbs, a long-armed, wide-eyed, 18-year-old Frenchman who has only been playing basketball for four years leapt into the Minnesota Timberwolves’ hearts — on the third try. After the kind of old-school, private, clandestine pre-draft workout that has increasingly become a thing of the past in this highly orchestrated, controlled era of the NBA Draft preparation, Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly asked Joan Beringer to dunk from the free-throw line.
The workout took place on June 21 at the end of what had been an exhausting week for the 6-foot-11, 235-pound prospect. Beringer had already had workouts in San Antonio, Memphis and with the Bulls in Chicago that week, and his legs were feeling a little rubbery by the time the Timberwolves scrambled to get an up-close look at him less than a week before the draft. On the first two attempts to dunk it from the stripe, his legs just weren’t quite there. “I was tired,” Beringer said with a chuckle. “The last one I said, I need to finish a good workout. And that was it.”
“A lot of the NBA stuff is so hyper-sanitized,” said Joe Connelly, the team’s director of scouting. ”This had an authentic, almost grimy feel to it that just felt natural.” As Beringer went through a series of drills aimed at giving the Wolves an idea of his potential, from ballhandling to one-on-one games and even to some midrange jumpers, the Wolves steadily grew more enamored with a player they had been intrigued by from afar for the better part of a year. “I remember just catching an eye with Tim and both of our eyebrows were kind of cocked, like what’s going on here, man,” Connelly said.
Chris Hine: Tim Connelly on trading pick 31: “It was really curious how agent driven the 2nd round became. We called players left & right, and there was 20 deals done before the draft started. It was interesting. No. 31 is fun, but it’s probably not as fun as we thought was gonna be.”
Jon Krawczynski: Connelly said moving down tonight was partly due to the roster's depth at this point and partly due to making sure they gave themselves leeway to stay under the 2nd apron. The repeater penalties for the 2nd apron are draconian. Wolves trying to avoid it.
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Jon Krawczynski: Tim Connelly on Beringer: "He’s very raw but really bright and has developed at a pace that, quite frankly, I’ve never seen for a guy that new to professional basketball."
They eventually want to build a new arena, have already appointed an interim leader of the business side of the operations to take over while they search for replacements for chief executive officer Ethan Casson and chief operating officer Ryan Tanke, longtime leaders of the business side and close allies of Taylor, and are working on a contract extension for Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who helped build the Wolves into back-to-back Western Conference finalists.
“I wouldn’t trade these three for anyone,” Rodriguez said. “When you talk about Tim Connelly, coach Finch and Anthony Edwards, especially because of Anthony’s age, having those three together is a great kind of foundation.” Connelly’s contract is up, but he said earlier in the offseason that he wasn’t going anywhere and, team sources said, turned down overtures from other teams looking to poach him. A new deal is expected sometime this summer.
For all of the good feelings about what Minnesota accomplished and endured, there is some uncertainty. Randle can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer. Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, he seemed destined to sign a new deal with the Wolves to stay for the long term. But Randle’s struggles against Oklahoma City in the conference finals — he averaged 17.4 points and 3.6 turnovers in the 4-1 loss — make those decisions less straightforward. Connelly said that he hopes to bring Randle back, but also did not rule out another big trade if one presents itself and can get the Wolves closer to a championship. “Fingers crossed, our ability to be a little more flexible could serve us well this season,” Connelly said.
Tim Connelly moved an opt out in his contract last summer as he awaited how the Wolves ownership situation was going to play out. Now that that’s settled, and Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are set to become controlling owners, Connelly seemingly put to rest any concerns that he would leave. “Super happy here,” Connelly said. “It’s been great, not just as working with the team, but this whole community really feels like home. I think you guys are stuck with me.”
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Tim Connelly on Micah Nori: Someone is going to hire him as a head coach soon
Jon Krawczynski: Connelly lauded Finch's staff for being able to develop talent and adapt on the fly. "Someone is going to smartly hire Micah Nori as a head coach soon."
Jon Krawczynski: Tim Connelly on Chris Finch, said he is "great," and they've asked a lot out of him w/Rudy trade and KAT trade in last 3 years. "So it’s a testament to his intelligence, his ability to be creative and to coach any group we put in front of him."
Dane Moore: Tim Connelly when asked about staying beneath the 2nd apron next season... "I think optimally you can dip your toe in (to the 2nd apron) but you don't want to be there too consistently, because it gets so punitive. It's not just super expensive... but it's so restrictive with deal-making. So how can we insure that we're as nimble as possible? I wouldn't say it's a steadfast 'we're definitely going to be out of it'. But if we're gonna be in it, we're gonna be in it for a good reason."
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