Report: Wizards granted permission to speak with Nuggets' Connelly

The Washington Wizards have been granted permission to discuss their president of basketball operations vacancy with Denver Nuggets president Tim Connelly, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday.

A meeting between the two parties is expected to take place this week.

The Nuggets are reportedly confident that current general manager Arturas Karnisovas could take over if Connelly heads to the nation's capital.

Connelly, a native of Baltimore, MD, served as an intern for the Wizards' basketball operations department in 1996 before moving on to become an assistant video coordinator, a full-time scout, and a director of player personnel in the years that followed.

He took over as Denver's executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager in 2013, replacing current Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri. Connelly was promoted to president of basketball operations in 2017 and agreed to a multi-year extension this past February.

Denver recently advanced to within one win of a Western Conference finals berth before falling to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 7 at home. The team qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Washington dismissed former president Ernie Grunfeld in April following 16 seasons. The Wizards ended the 2018-19 regular season with a 32-50 record after making the playoffs four of the last five years.