It’s time to celebrate! On the day of the contract extension deadline, Jaden McDaniels signed a 5-year, $136 million extension. That’s fantastic news. McDaniels is a great player who has meaningfully contributed to Minnesota’s playoff teams. Therefore, he’s earned a sizable pay raise and contract security. In his first three years, McDaniels has already become one of the best and most versatile defenders in the NBA. Although he hasn’t had a ton of latitude to show off his abilities in a Wolves offense with many contributors, we’ve seen plenty of flashes that suggest Jaden could succeed in an expanded offensive role.
However, McDaniels was the last of the current young core to get his deal done, which makes this signing even more important. Earlier this summer, the Wolves signed Naz Reid to a three-year, $42 million contract, and Anthony Edwards to a five-year max extension that could be worth up to $260 million. After extending Jaden, we can officially say that the Wolves have signed their most important young players long-term.
That’s important for several reasons. First, as many of us know, the Wolves are going to be above the salary cap’s second apron next year. That means they may have to trade one of their higher-salary players. Otherwise, ownership will have to pay heavy luxury taxes and potentially face the league’s punitive ramifications for teams over the new CBA’s cap.
Now that the Wolves have signed Ant, Jaden, and Naz to long-term contracts, the Timberwolves will be fully prepared for whatever decision they have to make as a result of the new CBA next year. Even in the worst-case scenario where Minnesota has to trade Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, whether it’s because of the salary cap or because of lack of fit with the young core, the Wolves would still have a strong roster of players.
If you include Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the Wolves have four out of five members of what could be a scrappy starting five of players 25 and under. If one of Minnesota’s talented wing prospects like Leonard Miller or Josh Minott develops into a rotation player over the year, then you’d have a whole lineup. Obviously, that lineup would be unlikely to win as many games as one with KAT and Gobert in it. However, it definitely wouldn’t be your typical rebuilding team. Depending on what the Wolves got back in a hypothetical trade, they could potentially stay just as good, or get even better if they got a player who fit well with Ant.
I want to underline this point because there has been a lot of pessimism surrounding Minnesota’s future since the Gobert trade. I believe that the Timberwolves gave up too many draft assets in the deal, limiting their flexibility for future trades. However, it isn’t going to prevent the Wolves from building a successful team around Ant after the old guard leaves. They already have young players waiting either for an opportunity or a bigger role who have already proved they deserve it.
McDaniels is already a starter on the Wolves who’s also nearly an ideal running mate for Ant. He’s a lockdown defender who can stretch the floor and add complementary scoring on offense. Naz is already one of the best backup centers in the league, and he proved he can win games as a starter last season when KAT and Rudy were both out. There’s plenty of reason to believe that if you made him the permanent starter in a year or two, he could be great in the role. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 11 starts last season. The Wolves went 7-4 in the games he started.
These contract extensions are also important for Minnesota’s long-term chemistry and continuity. As basketball fans observe every year, it’s incredibly important to keep your star players happy in the NBA — stars on teams that don’t eventually demand trades. Even the most loyal superstars will become unhappy if their front office isn’t doing its best to build a championship team around them. Damian Lillard requested a trade this year after 11 years with the Portland Trail Blazers, because the team’s front office continued to prioritize young players and draft picks over trades that could have potentially made them a title contender.
The Timberwolves now officially have a superstar in Edwards, and it will be a part of their job to keep him content. Of course, Ant is happy now. He constantly praises his teammates and coach, Chris Finch, and has embraced Minnesota winters despite being from Atlanta. Still, front offices should always be active in their communication with their superstars and proactive on how they can maintain a successful environment for that superstar long term.
Extending McDaniels, Edwards, and Reid signals that the Wolves front office is doing just that. They built a competitive team that Ant has the opportunity to make the playoffs with every season while planning for the future and listening to Ant’s desires. During an interview after Naz’s signing, Tim Connelly noted that players would call him throughout the summer and say, “We gotta get Naz done, we gotta get Naz done” and he would respond in kind.
When asked how Naz can help Ant, Connelly praised Naz’s versatility as a player. However, he also noted that he knew that “[Naz] and Ant are very tight,” and that he thinks both players help each other. The Wolves listened and did what it took to sign Reid even though they already have two centers, because they are planning for the future. Ant has also praised McDaniels throughout his career. “Jaden is the most important person on the team, for sure, because he has the most potential,” he said in a recent interview. “I think the world knows we wouldn’t be the Minnesota Timberwolves without Jaden McDaniels. So yeah, I’m looking forward to him having a phenomenal season.”
As Ant mentioned, the world knows the Wolves wouldn’t be the Wolves without Jaden McDaniels. Therefore, the front office had to offer him a contract extension. Still, it shouldn’t be ignored that the Timberwolves again were in alignment with Ant’s desires. They did what it took to offer Jaden a market-value contract that would make him and his agents happy enough not to bring the negotiation to unrestricted free agency.
Extending McDaniels and Reid were important not only because they are good players who could help the Wolves win for many years to come but also because they are Ant’s guys. Continuity and friendship are very valuable parts of maintaining team chemistry and happiness. By signing two of the people Ant seems to be closest with on the team, you have the added benefit of nurturing a comfortable environment for the three young players to continue to improve. The Wolves signed good players and also increased the good vibes.
