All-Star guard Anthony Edwards has agreed to a five year contract extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves worth up to $260 million, his agents told Adrian Wojnarowski. Edwards was eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, and he's received the full max deal after a career season that featured a playoff appearance with the Wolves.
Edwards earned his first All-Star appearance this past season, averaging a career-high 24.6 points to go along with 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He joins LaMelo Ball and Desmond Bane as other players who signed rookie scale extensions since free agency started on June 30.
Since being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, Edwards' progression has taken leaps and bounds on both ends of the floor. In three seasons he's established himself as one of the most exciting guards to watch around the league, taking no prisoners when he's attacking the rim and steadily improving his outside shot to keep defenders honest. He kept Minnesota afloat after an injury to Karl-Anthony Towns limited the big man to just 29 games last season, and led the Wolves to a playoff appearance.
While the Wolves lost to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, it wasn't because of Edwards' efforts as he upped his scoring average to 31.6 points in the five-game series. Despite losing in the first round of the postseason for the second straight year, Edwards has shown he's more than ready to go further than the first round. Now that Edwards is signed to a five-year deal, the Wolves now have three players on max contracts including Towns and Rudy Gobert.
With that trio under team control for the foreseeable future, the Wolves can look to continue building upon the success they've had in the last two seasons.
