It’s Time for the Timberwolves to Solve the Jaden McDaniels Mystery

Jaden McDaniels has long been an unknown on offense. With no third option apparent, it may finally be time for the Timberwolves to find out who he can be.

The Timberwolves have a clear path to unlocking Jaden McDaniels's potential. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jaden McDaniels has been a mystery on offense for most of his career. His consistent improvement season after season leads to the conversation every fall speculating about what he could be. The mystery around his role with the Timberwolves is then fueled by the offseason videos and the hints at an increased responsibility on offense. 

However, the season rolls around, and McDaniels drifts back into an afterthought. Usually, for good reason, in 2023-24, it was allowing Anthony Edwards to take the reins of the offense. 2024-25, the Wolves had to prioritize the gelling of Julius Randle into the offense. In 2025-26, it was maximizing a roster without a point guard. 2026-27, though, feels different; the normal McDaniels offseason coaches' rhetoric feels more real. 

Prior to Summer League, McDaniels’s development coach, James “Flight” White, spoke of his excitement for McDaniels’s increased role this upcoming season. 

“I’m super excited, I mean, he’s been waiting on this. We talk about it all the time, just having a bigger role, and I think he’s ready, he’ll be ready. He’s working hard, getting back in the groove, he’ll be ready, he’ll be ready for any role they need him to take”

Wolves assistant James “flight” White on Jaden McDaniels opportunity this season

“I’m super excited, I mean he’s been waiting on this. We talk about it all the time, just having a bigger role, and I think he’s ready, he’ll be ready. He’s working hard, getting back in the groove,… pic.twitter.com/oNQC8brQwr

— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) July 6, 2026

Going back to the end of the 2025-26 season, Timberwolves President of Baseball Operations Tim Connelly also spoke on a potential bigger offensive role with the team in 2026-27. 

“I think without question it’s (the) discussions we’ve had over the last several years. Jaden has a whole ‘nother gear to reach. In a closeout game, to have 32 and 10 against a really, really good team," Connelly said. "We want to keep raising the bar. As good as he is, we know his best basketball is in front of him. I think there’s a lot more he can unlock as a playmaker, too. We have to ensure that he’s in a position to do those things. He’s a guy that, offensively, has a whole ‘nother place he can get to and we’re confident he can get there.”

Rising outlook

One of the areas McDaniels has shown growth in has been as a playmaker.

Whether it’s finding Gobert inside off the dribble or swinging the ball off of his drives, McDaniels has improved considerably in 2025-26. He set a career high of 2.7 assists per game, and a career high in assists percentage(12.1%) and assist ratio(16.4). The improvement is something head coach Chris Finch explained to the media last December. 

“I think he’s always had it, and I just feel like his touches have always been inconsistent in his career here," Finch said. "Now that his touches are more consistent, and I think he feels more comfortable where he’s going to get his shots, how he’s going to score his points, and that’s kinda opened his playmaking mind”

Timberwolves HC Chris Finch has been impressed with the strides that Jaden McDaniels has made as a playmaker. | USA TODAY Sports

If more touches and consistent shots in the offense unlocked McDaniel's playmaking, it certainly did the same with his shooting. McDaniels averaged a career high 14.8 points per game on a career best 61.1% true shooting. His true shooting percentage was just 0.6% lower than Anthony Edwards. McDaniels also had his highest usage percentage of his career at 18.2%, which still ranked seventh among the Wolves' top nine rotation members. 

Solving the mystery

The mystery of McDaniels' offensive role might be as simple as the more opportunities and usage that he has in the offense, results in more efficient play.

This may sound obvious, but for a lot of players, the more their role expands, the more it exposes their inefficiencies. If a player is turnover-prone, the more they have the ball, the more turnovers they will produce. Rob Dillingham was the perfect example of this. In small doses of playing time and having him off the ball, the turnovers can be mitigated, but when running the offense, they will increase. 

Similarly, shooters who shoot the ball and have a low assist rate typically shoot more, and the assist rate stays the same when they have more usage. The point being, more usage typically results in more of the same in players, not an expansion of skills as it has in McDaniels. This is what leads to the Wolves feeling McDaniels has more levels to his game. 

It’s the unknown, or the mystery with McDaniels, that finally feels like it will be solved. The Wolves will have to take a leap of faith in embracing McDaniels and allowing him to expand his role in the offense. The rewards of this may be franchise-altering. With more usage, he has shown himself to be able to expand his playmaking, improve his shooting, and maintain his level of defense. 

With no clear third option on the Timberwolves this upcoming season behind Edwards and LaMelo Ball, it would appear that Minnesota is committed to figuring out just how talented McDaniels could be on offense.

It’s the moment that McDaniels has been waiting for. 

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