Nuggets coach says Wolves boss Tim Connelly will keep things 'positive'

Michael Malone worked with Tim Connelly in Denver as they built a playoff team.

By Chris Hine Star Tribune

January 2, 2023 — 9:38pm

If there's anyone who knows how Timberwolves President Tim Connelly handles the pressure cooker of an NBA season, it's Nuggets coach Michael Malone.

The two formed a strong partnership in Denver, oversaw the development of Nikola Jokic into a two-time league MVP, and helped build the Nuggets into a team that reached the Western Conference finals.

Malone said the relationship he had with Connelly was unique across professional sports.

"We can have honest conversations, we can hold each other accountable, we can challenge each other," Malone said before Monday's game at Target Center. "We both knew it was never personal. I never felt I was being attacked, nor did he because we were both trying to push each other. Not only for us to be our best, but most important to put the organization in the best position."

Malone has seen Connelly navigate low stretches in the midst of a season, much like the Wolves are in now having lost six straight entering Monday. While Connelly can push those that work for him, there is a positivity with which he attacks the job that can help in tough times.

"It's not going to sway Tim," Malone said. "He's going to challenge himself to be better. He's going to challenge everyone around him to be better, but he's also going to make sure he's keeping it really positive. And this may sound strange, but in a long, emotional NBA season, he's going to find a way to bring some comedy and some lightness to it, which I think is needed."

Malone said that attitude was welcome and needed when Connelly was in Denver.

"I'm sure everybody here in Minnesota is not happy with their play," Malone said. "Getting down and getting negative will not help that. It will only make it worse. Tim was definitely the guy that can get this team out of that. That's just who he is as a person in his DNA."

Rivers on state of team

Banishing negativity was something Wolves guard Austin Rivers mentioned at shootaround.

"Sometimes in the league, when things aren't going right, it just starts to pour, and it's very easy to let negativity start to climb in," he said. "Everybody has [somebody] in their ear when they go back home, and everyone has the solution, everyone has an opinion, everyone is the smartest player in the world. That type of stuff can't creep in."

In his 11 NBA years, Rivers has seen moments when teams hit their nadir of a season.

He has seen those moments go in both positive and negative directions.

"I've been on both sides of that coin, man," Rivers said. "I've been on teams where you lose like this and it goes just downhill, and I've been on teams where this is nothing. We just keep playing the right way and next thing you know you win five or six in a row and this is a thing of the past."

As one of the most NBA-tenured players on the team, Rivers has spoken often this season about the mood and state of the team. He expressed optimism the Wolves could turn their season around while acknowledging the time for talk is over.

"There's nothing more that can be said," Rivers said. "Everything that's been said can possibly be said. … We've had enough team meetings, player meetings, film. This isn't rocket science. It's basketball."

Saunders returns

Monday marked the first game Ryan Saunders coached at Target Center since his tenure as Wolves coach ended with his firing in February 2021. Saunders is now an assistant on Malone's staff, and the two go back to when Flip Saunders befriended Malone after Malone was fired in Sacramento.

"First and foremost, he's a great person," Malone said of Ryan Saunders. "High character. His work ethic is off the charts, extremely loyal, very intelligent."

Saunders has been tasked with coordinating Denver's defense, which has improved as the season has gone on. The Nuggets had the 12th-best defensive rating over the previous 12 games entering Monday.

"Ryan has impressed me with his stick-with-it attitude and a guy I know who always has not only my back, but everybody in that locker room's back," Malone said. "It's a pleasure to have him on our staff."