Another magical operation of Mr. Kang, the luxury tax is greatly reduced

NBA 2025 draft has come to an end, but the battle between general managers of each team has just begun. In the following offseason, they will be committed to renewing the players and optimizing the lineup through trades. As the behind-the-scenes hero of the Nuggets' championship and the chief designer of the rise of Timberwolves, Connery's every move by Timberwolves' operations always reflects his extraordinary wisdom and vision. From 9 to 1 betting on Gobert to sending off Towns, Connery's operations are always accompanied by everyone's confusion, but as time goes by, everyone will be conquered by his unique understanding. Faced with the team's huge luxury tax pressure, Connery completed the resolution in just three steps, and the renewal of the contract with Naz Reed is the third step. The first two steps are to send off the maximum salary Towns and cut Gobert's salary and renew his contract in advance. Connery's third move is also magical. As the sixth man in 2024, Reed's ability is fully competent for starting in other teams. In the 2024-25 season, he averaged 14.2 points, 6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 46.2%, a three-point shooting percentage of 37.9%, and a career high per game. Many experts estimate that Reed's new contract will have an annual salary of more than $35 million, and many teams have started chasing him early and promised the starting position.

But Connery has such a magic, and he made Reed willingly sign the five-year $125 million contract. Admittedly, Reed is not perfect. Due to his body shape, he often falls at a disadvantage in head-on confrontations with top insiders and meat shield centers. However, with the same truth as "40 million Westbrook is annoying, 4 million Westbrook is really fragrant". Reed can stay with 25 million, so what else do you want? If you can avoid being kidnapped by other teams and agree to a salary cut, what kind of ecstasy has Connery given Reed is probably the biggest unsolved mystery this offseason.

plus the three-year, $110 million new contract that Gobert took effect in the new season (originally qualified to sign a four-year, maximum salary of 242 million), the luxury tax that the Timberwolves currently needs to pay has dropped sharply from $141 million last season to $23 million, a drop of $120 million! It can be said that while maintaining the team's competitiveness, Connery is constantly optimizing the lineup. Which boss doesn't like such a general manager? No wonder since last year, there has been news that Connery may resign at any time, but the new bosses Lore and Rodriguez tried every means to keep him. After all, Connery is the real cornerstone of the team building behind the scenes.

It is worth mentioning that Connery will definitely have corresponding operations in the future, because Randall will likely jump out of the last year's player option, and Walker on the back line also faces the issue of renewal. As a reward in the Towns deal, Randle performed quite well in this playoff trip. He will definitely seek a new contract with a maximum salary, or close to the maximum salary, which the Timberwolves can't afford. If it were other general managers, it would be a headache, but from the moment Connery got Randle's trade, he probably had already thought of the next plan, and let's wait and see what magical operations he would make people shine in the future.