The Minnesota Timberwolves should keep Jaden McDaniels on their roster for years to come. He has continued to improve since being selected 28th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The 26-year-old is eligible to sign a two-year extension worth up to $87 million until October 19. As good as he is, in the NBA's second-apron era, $43.5 million per year is fairly steep for someone who has never made an All-Star team.
The Timberwolves should wait on an extension—unless McDaniels agrees to extend for less—especially since he still has three years left on his current deal.
Plenty of time remaining on McDaniels’ contract
Any extension McDaniels agrees to wouldn’t go into effect until the 2029–30 season. The five-year contract he signed in 2023 still has three years left, worth around $84 million.
That two-year extension would cover McDaniels’ age-29 and age-30 seasons. Those would seemingly be two years firmly in his prime. In an NBA world of aprons, though, it isn’t always good business to hand out substantial amounts of money.
Recent champions have done whatever is needed to stay under the second apron. The New York Knicks have tabled extension talks with numerous players, most notably Karl-Anthony Towns. The two parties reportedly never got close to an agreement. Mitchell Robinson left for the Celtics, and Miles McBride could be the next champion to exit.
The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, and Luguentz Dort this offseason. The 2025 offseason saw the Boston Celtics shed lots of salary.
Both Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball are also eligible for extensions. They have three years left on their current deals, and it's unlikely they will agree to an extension anytime soon. Minnesota will want to keep them, and they will both command far more than an average annual value of $43.5 million.
By 2029, Rudy Gobert likely will not be on the team anymore. If Joan Beringer reaches his potential, he’ll need to get paid, too. The Timberwolves won’t want the neophyte to walk because Beringer was drafted with the intention of becoming Gobert’s successor.
None of this means that McDaniels isn’t a valuable player. He’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and is improving on offense every year. He could be in the All-Star conversation as soon as this season if he continues to grow his offensive game and shoot well from beyond the arc.
This is just the current NBA landscape. Paying three players exorbitant amounts of money hamstrings a team’s ability to build a solid roster around them.
Now, I don't think it would be egregious for Minnesota to decide to offer that extension. The Timberwolves have time before McDaniels enters free agency, though. Get another year of data on him, see how much of a leap he takes with Ball playing point guard, and, if everything works out, then go to the negotiating table.
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