The Minnesota Timberwolves will reportedly sign Andrew Wiggins to a five-year contract extension. Accordingly, it is worth $148 million.
Coach Tom Thibodeau confirms contract negotiations
The Minnesota Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations, Tom Thibodeau, said in a news conference that they are tweaking the terms of the five-year contract. Thibodeau will hopefully be one of the cornerstone players of the team, ESPN reported.
Why Minnesota Timberwolves want to extend Wiggins’ contract
The starting salary that Wiggins will get for the 2018-2019 NBA season is $25.5 million.
According to the reports, he could get $30.6 million if he will be part of an All-NBA team or would be named as the Defensive Player of the Year, CBS Sports shared. The contract must be finalized and agreed to by both parties one day before the start of the season when the extension will start.
Wiggins has been a valuable player for the Timberwolves as he averaged 23.6 points and 2.3 assists per game during the 2016-2017 NBA season. He will play alongside Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Town. Butler was acquired by the Timberwolves on draft night, and they had to give up Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine for it.
Butler is expected to help Wiggins play better. Butler averaged 23.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 6.2 Rebounds Per Game.
It is also expected that for the whole 2017-2018 season, Wiggins should be a complete player after training with Butler. His pay next season is at $7.6 million.
Minnesota Timberwolves was able to acquire Wiggins after Cleveland Cavaliers traded him for Kevin Love. Many believed Wiggins would have played well alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Offseason was busy for Minnesota
The team hopes to make it to the play offs this season. It was a busy offseason for the team as they acquired a lot of new players. Aside from Butler, they acquired Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague, and Taj Gibson in free agency. Crawford averaged 12. 3 points, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 rebounds per game last season.
Teague, on the other hand, averaged 15.3 points, 7.8 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game in the 2016-2017 NBA season. As for Gibson, 10.8 points, 6.2 assists, and 0.8 rebounds per game last season.
Thibodeau added during the news conference that they want to sign two wing players and a backup point guard. He did not drop names but said that they have been talking to some players and they are waiting for a perfect deal.
