top of page

Summary
I was a little surprised that McLaughlin got little interest in free agency last offseason, as he ended up returning to Minnesota on another two-way contract. While McLaughlin still had a pretty good season, his numbers were down from his rookie year. He turned the ball over a little more, his three-point shooting dipped from 44% to 38%, and he didn't finish as well at the rim. However, those numbers are still solid and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes. McLaughlin mostly play-makes for others, as his assist to usage rate is near the top of the league, according to Cleaning the Glass.

At 6'1" and already 25 years old, McLaughlin may not have a ton of upside, but I think he's still a good third point guard, and possibly could even be an above-average backup. He should be able to get a fully-guaranteed contract this summer.
 
Cap Considerations
McLaughlin will be a restricted free agent with a $1.7 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer, and the Timberwolves will have his Early Bird rights. However, the Timberwolves may not tender him a QO, which would make him an unrestricted free agent. If the Timberwolves re-sign McLaughlin using the Early-Bird Exception, they could offer him a starting salary of up to 105% of the average salary this past season (roughly $10 million).

Since McLaughlin will only have two years of service, he will be subject to the Gilbert Arenas provision. This means that any offer sheet he signs with a team besides Minnesota can have a starting maximum salary of $9.5 million, but the third and potentially fourth years of that contract can have a large jump (up to the max). His cap hit would then be the average salary over the life of the contract.

If the Timberwolves match, they could choose for his cap hit to either be his actual salary per season or the average over the life of the contract, provided the average fits within the Early Bird Exception. I do not expect this to come into play for McLaughlin, as I think any offers for him would fit within the full Non-Taxpayer MLE. There's also a chance that McLaughlin ends up settling for the minimum.

Potential Teams: Timberwolves, Kings, Bulls, Jazz, Clippers

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $1.7 million with the Timberwolves

Actual Contract: 3-year, $6.5 million (final season non-guaranteed) with the Timberwolves

Despite taking a while to come to a deal, McLaughlin got a nice contract with Minnesota, getting some security on a three-year deal for a little bit above the minimum.

Last updated: 9/21/2021

bottom of page