Timberwolves' $136 million gamble looks better each passing day

When the Minnesota Timberwolves signed Jaden McDaniels to a five-year, $136 million contract in October 2023, it wasn't considered a bad deal, necessarily. However, paying a role player nearly $30 million a year was a clear risk, and some people viewed it as an overpay. Flash forward to 2026, and this deal is aging extremely well.

McDaniels is in the midst of a career season, averaging 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, on staggering 52.1/41.9/83.3 shooting splits. It was always clear that McDaniels was an elite-level defender, but it was unclear if his offense would ever be able to catch up. Safe to say his offense caught up now, though.

While McDaniels might not ever make an All-Star team (although I wouldn't put it past the 25-year-old), it's clear that he's exceeded the label of a role player.

Jaden McDaniels is expanding his game and living up to his contract

This season, McDaniels is the 88th highest-paid player via Basketball Reference. In reality, though, he's a fringe top 50 player. McDaniels has blossomed into a dependable third option, and getting a player of that caliber for less than $30 million a year is not common in the modern NBA.

Despite some early concerns, this contract is clearly an incredible value deal for the Wolves.

McDaniels' 3-point shooting and shot creation have been key areas of growth this season. Entering the year, McDaniels was a career 34.8 3-point shooter, but this season, he is averaging 41.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Washington product is a career 42 percent shooter from 3-point range in the playoffs, so this leap wasn't entirely shocking. Regardless, there's no denying that his shooting growth is highly impactful.

Before he was a dependable shooter, opposing defenses would sag off McDaniels, daring him to shoot. Now, they can't do this as he will make them pay. As such, this takes significant pressure off of Anthony Edwards and opens up more scoring possibilities for McDaniels.

The 6-foot-9 forward has also grown as mid-range scorer shooting a career-high 48.8 from the mid-range per NBA.com. He looks noticeably more comfortable stopping on dime and pulling up from mid-range.

McDaniels has always been an efficient finisher, but he has been far more aggressive this season, averaging a career-high 6.5 drives per game while shooting 71.4 percent at the rim. Additionally, McDaniels' improved play in the pick-and-roll stands out. Notably, Jaden ranks in the 88th percentile for points per pick-and-roll play.

Likewise, McDaniels' playmaking has reached another level as he is averaging a career-high 2.7 assists. Per Cleaning the Glass, he ranks in the 53rd percentile for assist-to-usage ratio. He is making better decisions as a passer and has a noticeably tighter handle.

Defensively, McDaniels remains elite, often guarding the opposing team's best guard or forward. He posts a stellar 42.9 defensive field goal percentage while ranking in the 86th percentile for matchup difficulty per CraftedNBA.

McDaniels is also a fantastic off-ball defender, averaging 2.0 stocks per game. He wreaks havoc as a helpside defender and provides some rim protection when Rudy Gobert is off the floor. Impressively, per Basketball Index, McDaniels ranks in the 89th percentile for rim protection and the 94th percentile for rim disruption.

Ultimately, McDaniels' growing offense, paired with his defense remaining stellar, makes this once risky contract look like an absolute no-brainer.