Kofi Inkoom
The Minnesota Timberwolves and forward Jaden McDaniels have reached an agreement on a five-year contract extension valued at $136 million, as reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Charania’s report mentions that by committing to this substantial contract extension for McDaniels, the Timberwolves are expected to become a taxpaying team starting in the 2024/25 season when the new deal takes effect.
This is significant because Minnesota has not been a team incurring luxury tax for nearly two decades, according to Charania.
Selected as the 28th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Jaden McDaniels is coming off a remarkable season in which he averaged 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game across 79 games, all of which he started, while playing an average of 30.6 minutes per game.
Additionally, he significantly improved his scoring efficiency, posting a career-best 58.8% two-point shooting percentage in the 2022/23 season, with a substantial leap in True Shooting percentage (61.1%), compared to 55.2% and 55.3% in his previous two seasons.
McDaniels made a name for himself as one of the league’s top perimeter defenders, consistently matching up against some of the NBA’s brightest stars.
Despite his noteworthy efforts, he surprisingly did not receive recognition on the All-Defensive teams this year.
Unfortunately, the 23-year-old’s season took a negative turn when he injured his hand by punching a wall out of frustration during Minnesota’s regular-season finale against the New Orleans Pelicans.
This injury sidelined him for the Timberwolves’ play-in tournament games and the first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, which Minnesota ultimately lost 4-1.
Nevertheless, the Timberwolves have confidence in McDaniels and have rewarded him with a new contract.
He is poised to play a significant role in the team’s future and has the potential to develop into one of the league’s premier two-way players.
McDaniels is now the 11th former first-round draft pick to secure a rookie scale extension this offseason, matching the record from the previous two years.
Minnesota’s 2023-24 season commences on Wednesday evening with a matchup against the Toronto Raptors.