The Minnesota Timberwolves shook up the NBA landscape last season when they made the blockbuster trade to acquire Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz. One of the players they would not include in trade talks was versatile forward, Jaden McDaniels.
Minnesota envisioned McDaniels as one of their key core players heading into the future and they cemented that fact on Monday, hours before the rookie scale extension deadline hit. According to Sham Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the two sides agreed to a massive five-year, $136 million extension.
There are a lot of people who may see this as an overpay, but the going rate for emerging 3-and-D players is only going to go up. As pointed out by Bobby Marks of ESPN, this deal is pretty much the equivalent of the four-year, $90 million deal Mikal Bridges signed with the Phoenix Suns in 2021.
When looking at it from that regard, this deal is a fair one for McDaniels and could become very valuable if he continues progressing at the rate that he has. Last season, he played in and started 79 games, putting together the most productive season of his young career.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
McDaniels averaged 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.0 blocks in 30.6 minutes per game. His efficiency on offense was impressive, as he had a shooting split of .517/.398/.736.
The 3-point percentage will be key as teams focus all of their game plans on stopping Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. If he keeps up that shooting split, Minnesota is going to be a handful to stop offensively.
In addition to his floor spacing, McDaniels is one of the best defenders in the NBA. With the size, length and athleticism to defend multiple positions, he provides head coach Chris Finch with two stalwarts to build his game plan around, along with Gobert.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Last season, McDaniels ranked in the top 10 in field goal percentage allowed as the closest defender and in shooting percentage allowed at the rim by players who faced at least 200 shots. Only Bridges and OG Anunoby had more matchups against the 2023 NBA All-Stars than McDaniels did, as All-Defensive Team nominations should be coming his way sooner than later.
