According to Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo Sports (he's always the one who breaks these things) the Nuggets have hired a new Vice President of Basketball Operations. The heretofore unknown (to some) Tim Connelly, who worked previously with both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Washington Wizards.
Adrian Wojnarowski
@WojYahooNBA 26mThe Denver Nuggets have hired New Orleans executive Tim Connelly be the franchise's general manager, league sources tell Yahoo! Sports.
Adrian Wojnarowski
@WojYahooNBA 30mTim Connelly, considered one of league's rising stars, will hold title of Executive VP of Basketball Operations with Denver.
Apparently Connelly is considered a rising star in the talent evaluating circles. He will likely work in concert with Josh Kroenke in reshaping both the Nuggets front office and their still-ongoing coaching search. With the NBA Draft rapidly approaching and free agency about to start, it is important for the Nuggets to get a "structure" in place in order to approach this pivotal off season.
Here is some information on Connelly from the New Orleans Pelicans website:
Connelly comes to the Hornets from the Washington Wizards where he most recently served as the Director of Player Personnel. Connelly's recent roles at the Wizards as Director of Player Personnel including head scouting, salary cap and database management, player evaluation responsibilities, as well as assisting Tommy Sheppard, the Vice President of Player Personnel, with all front office duties.
The Baltimore native has traveled to five continents to identify top talent in the basketball world. Well-known both internationally and domestically in basketball circles, Connelly enjoyed a rapid ascent in the Wizards organization.
Connelly began working for the Wizards as an intern in the basketball operations department in 1996, and after his graduation from DC's Catholic University in 1999, Connelly was named to the Wizards scouting staff as Assistant Video Coordinator. In 2000, Connelly became a full-time scout for Washington, and later assumed the head scouting role.
Connelly's service to the game of basketball has spanned the globe in recent years. During the summer of 2006, Connelly served as a coach for the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program in South Africa, as well as at the Seed Academy in Dakar, Senegal. In the summer of 2007, Connelly visited Dublin, Ireland to help raise youth awareness of cultural diversity and integration through the sport of basketball, and to work with the Irish federation on future basketball related initiatives. More recently, with his brother and Wizards scout Pat, Connelly visited England in his personal efforts to aid the globalization of basketball.
A graduate of Towson Catholic High School, Connelly has aspirations to further his involvement in grass-roots basketball programs in his hometown of Baltimore. One of seven children and five brothers, each of Connelly's brothers -- Joe, Pat, Daniel and Kevin -- played basketball at Towson Catholic; the powerhouse Baltimore program. Joe is currently a coach and teacher at Baltimore Freedom Academy; Pat is employed as a scout with the Wizards and Daniel works as an assistant coach at Princeton.
Never quiet in Nuggets land.
Here is a link to Woj's article on the subject right here