Wiggins signs extension
MINNEAPOLIS The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed Andrew Wiggins to a new contract extension.
The Timberwolves announced on Wednesday that the two sides had reached agreement on a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but owner Glen Taylor said in August that he had offered Wiggins a five-year max contract worth $148 million.
It puts a big piece of business to rest after the situation dragged out for most of the summer.
Wiggins averaged 23.6 points per game in his third season in the league. The former No. 1 overall pick has cemented himself as one of the building blocks of an up-andcoming franchise. Along with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, Wiggins is expected to help the Timberwolves end a 13-season playoff drought this year.
Wiggins will not turn 23 until February and has yet to make an All-Star team. But had he made it to restricted free agency next summer, there was a very good chance another team would have sent a max offer sheet his way. The Timberwolves beat them to the punch.
Taylor made it clear to Wiggins early in the summer that he was comfortable with paying the huge price to keep the athletic wing in the fold. It is extremely rare for a player coming off of a rookie contract to turn down a max-level extension, but Wiggins did inject a little drama into what is normally a straight forward process.
“Minnesota’s been good to me,” Wiggins said in September. “They’ve been loyal, trustworthy and with that contract it means they’re committed. They want me here and I want the same.”