At the start of each of his business ventures, serial entrepreneur Marc Lore puts an intense focus on three facets – vision, capital and people.

And people, he’s often noted, are the most important component.

“Bringing in the very best people in the world,” Lore said last fall, “and letting them do their thing.”

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, when it came time to select a president of basketball operations for the Timberwolves – of whom Lore became a minority stake holder in 2021 and, along with Alex Rodriguez, is slated to become a majority owner by the end of 2023 – Lore’s search started at the very top, and ended with one of the game’s most lauded executives joining the organization.

Tim Connelly has agreed to join the Timberwolves as their new basketball boss, a source confirmed Monday, leaving the same role in Denver to come to Minnesota.

Connelly is largely credited with Denver’s ascension to a consistent Western Conference force. He drafted two-time, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic – whom he flew out to Serbia this month to meet and hand-deliver Jokic’s 2021-22 MVP trophy – Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. to construct the Nuggets’ formidable big three. That was supplemented by later selection gems like Bones Hyland and Monte Morris, and Aaron Gordon, who Denver acquired at the trade deadline in 2021.

Denver reached the Western Conference Finals in the bubble in 2020, and has seemingly only been derailed by significant injury losses the last two postseasons. The Nuggets’ future looks as bright as anyone’s in the NBA moving forward.

So why would Connelly leave Denver? It seems as though the decision — which he took a couple days to make — came down to compensation. Lore has said the pursuit of the best people is made without concern for cost. You don’t cheap out, particularly not when filling your most critical positions.

Connelly’s compensation from Minnesota is expected to be large, as the Timberwolves will empower him to run their basketball operations as he sees best fit. Connelly met with current Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor over the weekend to earn the final, most important stamp of approval.

Now he takes over a Minnesota roster filled with promise, starting at the top with Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels. There are other young pieces and other key players that Connelly will now be tasked to determine whether or not they fit into the Timberwolves’ puzzle.

Recently-extended head coach Chris Finch and his coaching staff are certain to work under Connelly for the foreseeable future. Will Sachin Gupta, who ran the basketball operations for the last eight months after Gersson Rosas was fired?

Gupta was a candidate to take the position permanently, but now the question is whether he wants to stick around in a No. 2 role, and if Connelly also finds that scenario attractive. If he does, Minnesota will feature one of the top executive tandems in the NBA.

A number of important decisions face Minnesota’s new head man at the start of what’s already proving to be a transformational offseason for the Timberwolves.

Both his track record as Denver’s shot caller since 2013, and Lore’s track record of tabbing decision makers, suggests Connelly is up to the task.

Here’s the latest installment of our Miami Dolphins Q&A, where South Florida Sun Sentinel writers David Furones and Omar Kelly answer questions from readers.

Q: Without [Brian] Flores being part of the defensive play-calling, what can we assume or expect with how well Josh Boyer will be now that this is his defense moving forward? — Dan Giunta on Twitter

A: Much like how it’s a “prove-it” year for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa because he has everything he should need to succeed heading into his third season, this could also be viewed as the season when the pressure is on Josh Boyer as defensive coordinator.

This will be the true test for him — with defensive personnel that offers him all the tools he needs — to show he can do it without leaning on ex-Dolphins coach Brian Flores, whom he’s had a longstanding relationship with going back to their decade-plus together as assistants with the New England Patriots.

As new coach Mike McDaniel reshaped the Dolphins’ offensive staff, he retained Boyer in his same defensive coordinator role as last season, along with other defensive assistants in linebackers coach Anthony Campanile and defensive line coach Austin Clark.

With all 11 starters and several rotational pieces on defense returning, if the Dolphins defense takes a step back in 2022, the blame will land on Boyer, who no longer has Flores with him or former defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander. Alexander, according to Sun Sentinel sources, took on added responsibilities in leading the defense in the second half of last season as the unit turned the team’s fortunes around for eight wins in the last nine games following a seven-game losing streak.

Early on upon being named head coach, McDaniel pursued former Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio for the defensive coordinator role, as the Sun Sentinel reported, but a deal couldn’t be reached. With Boyer retained, maintaining as much continuity as possible on a successful defense became the evident goal.

With the defense now nearly entirely his, Boyer already has the blueprint of what makes it work.

Bring exotic blitzes. Let cornerbacks Xavien Howard, Byron Jones and Nik Needham play man coverage. Allow safeties Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones to be versatile. Utilize multiple defensive fronts with the versatility that many in the front seven possess. And the addition of Melvin Ingram as another pass rusher helps.

Boyer, speaking recently with media at team facilities, said “a lot” of his time is consumed with the internal debate of how much to keep the same with the defense and what he’ll tinker with.

“Even the things that we do and we’ve done consistently, you’re always trying to tweak or do it better,” Boyer said. “There’s always variables that go into that: What teams are doing to you and what you’re looking to do to teams.”

One aspect that McDaniel, offensively, can facilitate for Boyer and the defense is to take some of the pressure off by installing an effective run game in Miami. The better the Dolphins can run the football under McDaniel, who led a consistent rushing attack for years in San Francisco, the more Miami can win the time of possession battle, keeping the defense fresh and not having to get run back out onto the field time and time again following three-and-outs from the offense.

Have a question?

Email David Furones, or tag @OmarKelly or @DavidFurones_ on Twitter.

Previously answered:

Where will Dolphins add another veteran free agent?

Is Christian Wilkins next for multi-year extension?

What could Dolphins’ draft strategy be?

How should Dolphins fill out O-line around Armstead?

Could AFC’s young guns at QB affect Dolphins’ commitment to Tua?

Why not throw downfield to Waddle more?

What do Dolphins think of practice squad rookie RB Gerrid Doaks?

Can Tua still be a top-10 quarterback?

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins died with alcohol and ketamine in his system and had been out at a South Florida club and drank “heavily,” records from the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office released Monday say.

Haskins, 24, died April 9 after he was hit by two drivers on Interstate 595 near the Fort Lauderdale airport, first by a dump truck driver and then by the driver of a Subaru Outback, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Haskins died from multiple blunt-force injuries, and his manner of death was an accident, the report says.

The Medical Examiner’s Office report says Haskins had been training in South Florida with his teammates and they all went to dinner. Then Haskins and a relative went to a club, possibly in Miami, where they “drank heavily” and separated after a fight.

Haskins’ alcohol levels were at 0.20 and 0.24, the toxicology report found from two separate samples. A driver is considered to be driving under the influence in Florida if the blood-alcohol content is at 0.08 or more.

The urine sample also came back positive for ketamine and norketamine, which is found in the body after ketamine is metabolized. Ketamine is “a dissociative anesthetic,” according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, that can be used as a sedative and pain reliever and may also cause hallucinations.

The report does not say how much of the drugs were detected in the sample. It notes that Haskins’ medical history was unknown, but he did not take daily medications.

Drivers reported seeing Haskins “waving cars down” while in the shoulder on the westbound side of the interstate, the report says.

He had run out of gas, pulled over to the side of the highway and got out in search of fuel about 6:15 a.m., the Medical Examiner’s report says. The 911 calls started pouring in about 6:33 a.m.

One woman who saw Haskins waving cars down told investigators she saw a man wearing all black, standing on the right shoulder of the road waving at cars. By the time she pulled over, parked and went to help him, he had already been hit, the report says.

Troopers found the abandoned car on the side of the highway with a woman inside. The report does not say what Haskins relationship to the woman who was waiting inside the car was.

Haskin’s wife, Kalabrya, told a 911 operator that her husband told her he was “stuck on the side of the highway” and would call her back once he got gas, according to the call released by FHP in April. But he never did.

“I don’t want you to panic, but I’m going to be honest with you,” the 911 operator said. “We do have an incident on the highway, but I can’t confirm if that’s your husband or not.”

Both drivers stopped and no criminal charges are expected to be filed in his death. Fire rescue crews pronounced Haskins dead at the scene at 6:48 a.m.

Staff writers David Fleshler and Chris Perkins contributed to this report.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

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