Ranking Every Current Timberwolves Contract From Best to Worst

Ranking NBA contracts is always something of a challenging exercise. It's only become more difficult as additional layers have been added to the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA); the era of the second apron has already produced plenty of star player movement and eight Finals champions over the last eight years.

The amount of player movement we have seen in recent years has more or less done away with the notion of "untradeable contracts," which was a reality under past CBAs and especially in the 2000s and 2010s.

Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly has done a phenomenal job of creating multiple versions of the Wolves' roster surrounding Anthony Edwards without ever boxing himself in with contracts that are overly challenging to trade. In other words, he's avoided "negative assets."

The closest recent example would be when Julius Randle was effectively treated as a negative asset when he was sent to Brooklyn this summer, but ultimately that deal was folded into the four-team deal that also sent Naz Reid to Charlotte and LaMelo Ball to Minnesota. But in a vacuum, the final trade package sent out from Minnesota of Randle and Reid for Ball (plus one first-round pick, a first-round pick swap, and a couple of second-rounders) is solid value.

The criteria used for ranking contracts has to be a combination of the quality of the player, upside, their impact on the Wolves' cap situation, and tradeability. Within tradeability, we have to consider both the potential interest around the league (how many teams would want to trade for this player) and ease of completing a trade (trading a salary like, Gobert's, for instance, is more complicated than trading a much smaller salary.)

Let's take a look at the 14 standard contracts the Timberwolves currently have on the books and rank them, best to worst.

(Note: Contracts with a player option on the final year are marked with one asterisk*, contracts with a team option on the final year are marked with two asterisks**. All salaries listed are the value remaining on the contract, not the value when the deal was originally signed.)

The best of the best

1. Anthony Edwards (3 years, $156.8 million)

Not much to say here. Anthony Edwards currently has a maximum contract and will be eligible for a supermax extension as soon as he makes another All-NBA team. As long as he plays at least 65 games this season, all of the above will happen. And even on a supermax, Ant will be worth it.

2. Jonathan Kuminga (2 years, $12.4 million*)

Again, we are not ranking players here. This entire exercise is based on the context of the value of the contract. And the Wolves have a guy in Jonathan Kuminga who averaged 15.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a game across the two seasons when he was a consistent member of the rotation on a good team. Those were his age-21 and age-22 seasons, and he'll be only 24 years old for the entirety of this season. At this price, he's an absolute bargain, even if he isn't quite a perfect fit. The player option on the second year almost guarantees that he'll opt out next summer, but that doesn't change the value and only decreases any risk.

3. Jaden McDaniels (3 years, $84 million)

When McDaniels first signed his extension in 2024, there was some chatter about the contract being something of an overpay. In terms of his offensive production to that point, the analysis was not entirely unfair. But he was coming off of an All-Defensive Second Team selection and has increased his scoring output in each season since signing the contract. After shooting 41.2% from deep last season and continuing to diversify his offensive skill-set, it's fair to say that this contract has aged quite well.

4. Donte DiVincenzo (1 year, $12.53 million)

Yes, DiVincenzo will almost certainly not set foot on the court until March in a best-case scenario. But the original deal of four years and $46.9 million that he signed with the New York Knicks was an absolute steal, and what he's owed this year would be a bargain if he was playing. Plus, per the criteria of this ranking, DiVincenzo is absolutely tradeable as an expiring deal and as an extension-eligible player. In fact, don't be surprised if the Wolves work out an extension with DiVincenzo prior to his return in spring. The Wolves could get a solid deal and DiVincenzo could receive some security coming off of a serious injury.

5. Joan Beringer (3 years, $16.1 million**)

Beringer's deal is his rookie contract signed after he was picked in the first round last season. And even though he hasn't played regular rotation minutes yet, the early returns on his defense and the sheer ceiling that the young Frenchman carries makes this a bargain of a deal. There is no question whatsoever that Beringer carries positive trade value, either.

A solid contract with positive value

6. Rudy Gobert (2 years, $74.5 million*)

Prior to the 2024-25 season, Gobert declined a player option that would have paid him $46.7 million and made him a free agent last summer. Instead, the Wolves gave him a brand-new, 3-year, $109.5 million deal to add some security to his mid-30s and give the Wolves both some immediate cap savings and future cost certainty. This exact scenario is possible, if not likely, to happen again following the upcoming campaign. Oh, and he absolutely has positive trade value; the Boston Celtics reportedly wanted Gobert in a Jaylen Brown trade and that was part of the reason the Wolves walked away from negotiations.

These deals are fine & probably entirely fair

7. LaMelo Ball (3 years, $130.7 million)

This one is pretty simple: If LaMelo Ball plays a reasonable number of games over the next few seasons, then his deal is entirely fair. It could even reach a similar level as Edwards's in terms of value. The biggest question, of course, is availability—will Ball be able to stay on the court? He just turned 25 years old and is on the same timeline as Edwards when it comes to a potential extension.

8. Ayo Dosunmu (5 years, $112 million)

On the one hand, $122 million is a lot of money to give to a non-starter who is neither a primary ball-handler or one of the team's best two defenders. On the other hand, Dosunmu averaged nearly 15 points per game last year while shooting 43.9% from deep between Chicago and Minnesota and took on some difficult defensive matchups on the perimeter. Certainly, his 43-point playoff outburst against Denver came into play here, but there were also some rumblings that he could have been paid even more on the open market. Ultimately, this deal is somewhere in the realm of fair for both sides.

9. Terrence Shannon, Jr. (2 years, $7.8 million**)

Shannon is only being paid $2.8 million this year, which is a bargain. But the Wolves have to make a decision on his 2027-28 option by Halloween, and that year's salary will clock in at just over $5 million. If Shannon proves that he deserves a rotation role this year, then that number is great. If not, then spending around 5% of the cap on a non-rotation player is less than ideal. He likely has neutral trade value but is not seen as an asset—at least until he has some runway to prove himself as a rotation-worthy player.

10. Jaylen Clark (3 years, $10 million)

Clark likely sacrificed a small bit of salary for this season versus if he had tested the open market, but he chose the familiarity of the Wolves and the security of a three-year deal. There's no downside for the Wolves; if he develops a corner 3-point shot this is a bargain. If he doesn't, he's a borderline elite (if undersized) defensive presence on a reasonable deal.

11. Bones Hyland (1 year, $2.8 million)

Not much to say here. It's a veteran's minimum deal, and the guess here is that there were other teams who would have offered the same deal but not a dime more. Ultimately, Hyland knew there was a potential role in Minnesota and obviously has familiarity with the coaching staff and front office. This is a fine, zero-risk deal for a volatile scorer that adds some punch to the backcourt.

12. Trey Lyles (1 year, $2.4 million partially guaranteed)

Lyles was not in the NBA last year, instead playing overseas. He came back stateside for a contract with $1.5 million in guaranteed money and the rest of the deal becoming guaranteed on January 10. There's zero risk here for the Wolves and Lyles should be in the rotation.

13. Isaiah Evans (4 years, $9.2 million**)

For a second-round pick, Evans is no doubt pleased to land a total of $6.3 million in guaranteed money over the life of the deal. On the Wolves side, they get to pay him just $1.3 million this year, $2.3 million next year, and $2.7 million in the final guaranteed year of the contract before there's a team option in 2029-30. Again, there's no risk, it's less than the veteran's minimum, and he's potentially tradeable down the road.

The only meh contract on the roster

14. Cody Williams (2 years, $13.7 million**)

As a first-round pick from the 2024 draft, Williams is on the same plan as Shannon—except he's being paid more than twice as much this season, has $2.6 million more on his contract next year if the option is picked up, and has shown less capability as an NBA player. However, as a one-and-done college player compared to Shannon's five years at the collegiate level, upside certainly remains. Somewhat ironically, the Wolves acquired Williams and his contract to save them money against the second apron, but it just might be the only contract on the roster that potentially carries negative value.

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