The Minnesota Timberwolves’ three longest tenured players, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid, epitomize the new era of winning basketball in Minnesota. Ever since the trio arrived and has developed, the Wolves have experienced unprecedented success as a franchise.
Edwards, McDaniels, and Reid have been through it all. In their first season together in 2020-21, Minnesota finished with a 23-49 record. Although the Timberwolves have gone 193-135 (58.9%) since then, they have made the playoffs in all four seasons.
With Reid entering his seventh year in the league, and Edwards and McDaniels entering their sixth. Minnesota’s trio has established that they drive winning.
“Our confidence is super high,” said McDaniels on media day regarding Edwards, Reid, and himself. “Us as a young core, if we all put the work in, all got better, it’s hard to stop.”
The winning has been linear, and so have the development pathways. Still, it wasn’t as easy to project the path for the trio to earn a spot in the league. Each player had some genuine concerns when they were prospects upon entering the NBA that they had to overcome.
Even Edwards, the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Scouts were concerned about his efficiency, shot selection, work ethic, and passion for the game. He tallied impressive scoring numbers with the Georgia Bulldogs, but he did not have much help around him. His playing context was lackluster for a top draft selection.
McDaniels shot just 40.5% from the field and 33.9% from three at Washington. He lost his starting spot in Pac-12 conference play and picked up five technical fouls due to his frustration on the court. After having the top of his class draft pedigree coming into the season as a consensus 5-star high school prospect, he fell to the end of the first round.
Reid bet on his talents and has worked to make a name for himself. However, he decided to enter the 2019 NBA Draft, despite having little buzz surrounding him. Reid ended up going undrafted, signed a two-way contract, and had to fully transform his body to find a role as an undersized Big. Reid’s crucial early work in finding his place in the NBA laid the groundwork for the unique player we watch today.
It’s impressive how far they have come in such a short time. Even then, Edwards is only 24 years old, Jaden is 25, and Reid is 26. They still have so much room for development as they enter their prime.
They have found chemistry on the court. However, a special bond between the three has been the catalyst needed to turn their raw talents into winning basketball.
“We all got three different personalities.” Edwards reflected on media day. “Jaden is super quiet. Naz is quiet, but he outgoing around the right people. And me, I just don’t care who I’m around, I’m gonna be myself no matter what. We all just click.”
No matter the circumstances, good game or bad, Edwards has found ways to be a leader with McDaniels and Reid at his side. Rarely will you hear Edwards discuss his own game first in a postgame interview. He will always go out of his way to highlight McDaniels and Reid’s contributions, no matter how their final box score looks.
While it could just be seen as the three getting together well, it has been the best showcase of Edwards’ vocal leadership.
The success has driven lucrative paydays for the trio and has demonstrated their commitment to Minnesota. The Wolves have signed Edwards, McDaniels, and Reid for four more years, through the 2028-29 season.
Minnesota knew they had to extend Edwards and offered him a max deal that increases to 30% of the cap if he makes an All-NBA team, which he did in his first season of the extension. Given how vital he is to the Timberwolves and that he’s one of the NBA’s best players, his $48.9M AAV is a bargain at this point.
McDaniels signed his extension late in the 2023 offseason, and much of his contract was contingent on his continued growth in the game. He has already proven that he’s worth $26.2M per year. McDaniels’ total salary and total contract value can be daunting. Still, when you consider how irreplaceable his skill set is, his contract, which makes up only around 15% of the cap, looks like fair value.
Reid is the only player on his third contract. His rookie deal was smaller and less guaranteed because he went undrafted, and the Timberwolves waited until he became an unrestricted free agent to sign him to his second deal. Still, Reid quickly outplayed his second contract and cashed in on a longer-term deal that promised him a respectable $25 million AAV.
Altogether, the trio will be making a minimum of $407.4 million over the next four seasons — a collective $101.9 million AAV.
They have built a genuine human bond together and have fully unlocked their on-court chemistry. Still, they must continue striving after lofty goals as the Timberwolves have fully invested in their talents.
Similar to one of Tim Connelly’s main talking points regarding Anthony Edwards on media day, we know these players are great. Still, there’s considerable room for growth and development within their games.
Among the many examples of how these players can improve, Edwards can still develop into a playmaker by finding more effective ways to manipulate defenses. He can also find more comfort in late-game situations where he must be the ultimate engine for deciding close wins and losses.
McDaniels’ role is straightforward. However, he’s still finding offensive rhythm and can improve upon his three-point shooting numbers.
Reid can improve as a team defender and rebounder, which would enable Minnesota to use him more frequently.
We know they are all great players, but the future will ultimately be decided by how much farther they want to push that. Given their financial investment in Edwards, McDaniels, and Reid, the Wolves have set expectations for winning. Their dynamic trio has established an example for everyone on the roster.
