Jaden McDaniels, so seemingly disinterested as a college player, can’t seem to get enough of the NBA.
He just took his game up a notch this summer for the Minnesota Timberwolves, with gliding into the lane for a determined dunk or pulling up for a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer among his heroics.
The former University of Washington one-and-done player demonstrated more of the offensive side to his game in the offseason circuit after proving to be more of a defensive specialist during the regular season.
Coming off his rookie NBA season, McDaniels is being groomed as a foundational player for the Minnesota franchise that envisions a fairly youthful starting lineup of post player Karl-Anthony Towns, guards D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards, and McDaniels at strong forward going forward.
The 6-foot-9 McDaniels from Federal Way, Washington, averaged 16.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the short summer season held in Las Vegas, playing in four of five games.
In his biggest highlight moment, McDaniels banked in a tying 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left in regulation, enabling the Timberwolves to improve to 4-0 in Las Vegas Summer League play with a 99-96 overtime victory over Philadelphia.
Luckily for him, former UW defensive specialist Matisse Thybulle wasn’t part of the 76ers summer roster because of his Olympic Games commitment with Australia.
McDaniels’ 3-pointer over a couple of defenders ended the scoring in a back-and-forth fourth quarter, which began with the Timberwolves up 64-63. He finished with 15 points in the outing.
Yet another ex-Husky Jaylen Nowell enjoyed his own summer league success, supplying a team-high 26 points plus 7 rebounds for the Wolves in their victory over Philadelphia. Nowell connected on a couple of 3-pointers in the two-minute overtime to help pull out the win.
McDaniels is considered one of the Timberwolves’ best defenders. His weakside rim protection was sterling in his debut season, and his perimeter defense against forwards and bigger wings was above average. He is the only Timberwolves player to present much of a defensive impact, a must for the franchise as it continues its rebuilding ways.
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