Jaden McDaniels isn’t going anywhere. The Timberwolves All-Defensive forward has agreed to a one-year, $40 million extension that keeps him under contract through the 2029-30 season, agents Nima Namakian of Innovate Sports and Bill Duffy of WME Basketball told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The structure leaves him options. He can negotiate another extension as early as 2028, starting at up to 140% of his $40 million salary, or he can enter free agency in the summer of 2030 as a 10-year veteran. This comes on top of the five-year, $136 million deal he signed in 2023, and Minnesota now has $124 million committed to the 26-year-old over the next four years.
Minnesota Timberwolves All-Defense forward Jaden McDaniels has agreed to a one-year, $40 million extension that will keep him under contract through the 2029-30 season, agents Nima Namakian of Innovate Sports and Bill Duffy of WME Basketball tell ESPN. https://t.co/PYtDRrLves
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 20, 2026
The Wolves are paying for a career year. In 2025-26 McDaniels averaged 14.8 points on 51.5% shooting, 41% from three, all career highs, along with 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He got better in the playoffs, scoring 16.3 points per game on 44% shooting, including a 32-point performance in Game 6 that helped eliminate the Denver Nuggets in the first round.
He has come a long way since Minnesota took him at No. 28 in the 2020 draft. He’s now a critical part of the core alongside Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and the newly acquired LaMelo Ball. He’s also the team’s premier perimeter defender. According to GeniusIQ, he had the fourth-most defensive matchups against 2026 All-Stars last season.
His scoring has been rising too, and Edwards said before the season that he expects McDaniels to make an All-Star team this year.
