Tim Connelly was a young intern in the Washington Bullets front office in 1996 when he first began working for Wes Unseld.
“I both revered and feared Wes,” said Connelly, now the president of basketball operations for the Nuggets. “A few days into the job, the fear quickly dissipated.”
Once that fear subsided, what was left for Connelly was profound respect he had for one of the NBA’s greatest players, and admiration that went far beyond Unseld’s past life as an outlet-pass-throwing, backboard-dominating giant. Unseld, who passed away early Tuesday morning at the age of 74, was a mentor for Connelly. He was a big-hearted listener who always helped guide the way as the young executive began climbing the NBA ladder.
“Every personal or professional milestone that I reached included a call to Wes,” Connelly said in a statement released by the Nuggets. “I wanted his advice and needed his guidance; he was always…
