Timberwolves President Tim Connelly and Nima Namakian, the agent for Jaden McDaniels, were chatting at the end of Wolves practice Monday, both with wide smiles on their faces. That’s because the two had put the finishing touches on a long-anticipated contract for McDaniels, who agreed to a five-year, $136 million deal just hours before a Monday NBA deadline on negotiations and would have punted a new potential contract until next offseason, when McDaniels could have been a restricted free agent.
Instead, both sides avoided the awkwardness that a situation can create by finding common ground in the final days of negotiations. McDaniels earned the contract thanks largely to his growing reputation as one of the league’s best perimeter defenders with an offensive game that has expanded over his first three seasons.
The 23-year-old former Washington Huskies forward played in 79 games last season, averaging 12.1 points and 3.9 rebounds before breaking his hand and punching a wall in Target Center on the last day of the regular season. McDaniels, who the Wolves took with the 28th pick in the 2020 draft, plays with a fiery competitiveness that can boil over in moments like that, but it’s also what drives him to be one of the league’s best defenders, with players such as Dallas guard Luka Doncic and Clippers forward Paul George citing him as one of the toughest to score against in the league.
Contract negotiations quickened with the looming deadline of Monday at 5 p.m. as McDaniels, sidelined because of an injured calf, worked out during and after practice. The injury could cause McDaniels to miss Wednesday’s opener in Toronto. One contract that affected McDaniels’ market value in negotiations was the extension the Spurs agreed to with Devin Vassell earlier this month for five years and $135 million. Vassell, whom the Spurs view as a franchise cornerstone, is also a dogged defender who averaged 18.5 points a season ago. He shot 39% from three-point range last season, while McDaniels shot 40%. McDaniels’ guaranteed contract number came in just above Vassell’s.
