It was an easy decision for the Minnesota Timberwolves to ink extensions with their 2020 draft picks, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, in the 2023 offseason. Edwards signed his five-year, $244 million extension early in the signing period, but the Wolves took their time with Jaden McDaniels.
Restricted free agency is strange. The limitations the league’s contract rules impose on teams allow front offices to work through all their other deals before they must negotiate with their core young assets. It is an issue that the new cap era has only exaggerated. Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, Cam Thomas, and Josh Giddey are the latest examples.
Stars like Anthony Edwards get their deals done early in the process because there is less nuance to the contracts. However, with role players like Jaden McDaniels, there’s no reason to rush the process unless another franchise signs an offer sheet. Finding ways to work on the margins is important. When it is time to compete, it is vital to have the young core locked in as many favorable deals as possible to maintain further roster-building flexibility.
Edwards signed his new deal on June 8, 2023, a week after the start of free agency. However, it took until October 23, the day before the 2023-24 regular season began, for McDaniels to sign his new extension.
Restricted free agency favors front offices and limits the freedom of players and agents. Therefore, Minnesota’s brass was wise to take their time with McDaniels’ new deal.
The Timberwolves bet fully on McDaniels’ potential when they handed him a five-year, $131 million extension. $26.2M AAV was a daunting number at the moment, but McDaniels earned his extension.
McDaniels missed the playoff series against the Denver Nuggets because of his infamous self-inflicted hand injury in the Target Center tunnel. Still, the 2022-23 season, a year before he signed his contract, was the best season of his young career.
2022-23 was McDaniels’ third year in the NBA and his age-22 season. He averaged a then-career high 12.1 points per game. He had a career-high 61.1% true-shooting percentage and shot a career-high 39.8% from three.
McDaniels parlayed his improved offense with elite defense, which made his cap hit valid. Even with the improvements, he still had a range of expectations on his shoulders. McDaniels had to continue improving to be worth his $26.2M AAV.
The salary cap spiked $30.9M, from $123.7M in the 2022-23 season to $154.6M in the 2025-26 season. Since most rookie scale extensions are based on a percentage of the cap, it made it difficult to map out the contract details without research that provides context.
McDaniels’ $29.8M owed in the final year of his extension looked irrational at the time of the deal when the salary cap was only $136M. However, a longer look at the cap reveals the contract’s true value.
McDaniels is only making around 15% of Minnesota’s cap space, and even less of a percentage of the cap when you consider the team is over the first apron.
The ever-changing landscape of news, where agents present the most compelling narrative to the media on behalf of their clients, has made it challenging for the public to respond to new contracts promptly. Details are often left out, and are not available for days past the announcement.
To find the truth and minutiae within contracts, you must research the contract’s finer points. This landscape makes it easy for deals to be misconstrued, and it’s a harsh reality that has clouded McDaniels’ new deal.
Now that we are one season into McDaniels’ new extension, it is easier to contextualize his deal compared to his peers.
Compare McDaniels’ deal to recent rookie extensions like Trey Murphy III’s ($28M AAV), Devin Vassell ($27M), R.J. Barrett ($26.75), and Jabari Smith Jr. ($24.4M). McDaniels is making around what his market value would be if he signed his deal this offseason.
There’s more room for growth in McDaniels’ game. He needs to find more consistency offensively and shoot better from three. Still, flashes of brilliance and low-usage creation create enough value to offset his shortcomings. He has fully lived up to his contract, even in his limited role.
McDaniels’ role expanded from a spot-up corner shooter to more on-ball creation opportunities during the 12 games that Julius Randle missed due to a groin injury. McDaniels averaged 18.5 points and 8.4 rebounds with a 56.8% true shooting percentage.
It’s challenging to compare McDaniels’ alternating offensive role and the limitations Minnesota’s offense imposed upon him to his contract number. However, that’s where his ultimate value lies.
McDaniels has adjusted to whatever the Timberwolves have needed from him over his career. Ever since he joined the rotation, they have asked him to take on difficult point-of-attack defensive duties for most games. McDaniels has also seen his offensive role fluctuate significantly, with much of it beyond his control.
Ultimately, McDaniels has an archetype and physical build that all teams would want to add to their roster. Near 7-footers with elite ground coverage ability, secondary shot creation ability, fluid movement, improved rebounding skills, and durability are difficult to find. McDaniels’ statistics may never be able to showcase how reliable he is for the Timberwolves, and how many ways he can impact the game for them on any given night.