The Wolves did not exercise an option on swingman Gerald Green

[BDodgers at aol.com]

Al Jefferson agrees to multiyear extension with Minnesota Timberwolves
Timberwolves barely beat the deadline
 
BY RICK ALONZO 
Pioneer Press
 




The Timberwolves reached a multiyear contract extension with forward Al 
Jefferson late Wednesday, the team announced.  
Terms of the contract were not released, but the Wolves have locked up a 
cornerstone to their rebuilding efforts with the deal reached just before the 11 
p.m. CDT deadline set by the NBA.  
"We're thrilled to have Al be a cornerstone of the Timberwolves for years to 
come," said Kevin McHale, vice president of basketball operations. "Al has 
proven that at only 22 years of age he's among the rising stars in the NBA. He's 
extremely talented, hard-working, shows a tremendous willingness to learn and 
improve in all facets of the game. Al's only going to continue to get better.  
"This is another step in our efforts to continue to solidify our core group 
of young and talented players."  
Wolves owner Glen Taylor said last week Jefferson would be offered an 
extension in the neighborhood of five years and $50 million to $60 million. He said 
he believed Jefferson's agent, Jeff Schwartz, would ask for more than that. The 
maximum under NBA rules would be up to about $80 million, but Taylor said he 
would not offer the maximum.  
Taylor said he wanted to structure the extension with significant performance 
incentives that would be team-oriented, such as benchmarks for Jefferson's 
rebounds and assists.  
Jefferson, a 2004 first-round draft pick out of Prentiss (Miss.) High School, 
is entering his fourth NBA season and his first with the Wolves. The 
6-foot-10 forward is the centerpiece of the seven-for-one trade last summer that sent 
Kevin Garnett to Boston for Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian 
Telfair, Ryan Gomes and two first-round draft picks. In 2005-06, Jefferson 
averaged 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 18 minutes a game before he blossomed last 
season, when he averaged 16.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in 34 minutes a game.  
Jefferson is due $2.48 million this season, and the extension will kick in 
during the 2008-09 season.  
Had an agreement not been reached, Jefferson would have become a restricted 
free agent next summer and could have fielded offers from other teams. The 
Wolves could have retained him by matching another team's offer.  
"It's just better to do a deal that's good for both parties," McHale said. 
"And also it's not good to overpay, either. That happens, too, in this league. 
Hopefully we can do something that's fair for both parties, and that's what 
we're looking to do."  
McHale said after Wednesday's practice he was confident Jefferson would 
continue to play well and with a good attitude even if no extension was finalized.  
"Al's about as nice a young man as you're going to find," McHale said.  
In other roster news, the Wolves announced they exercised the third-year 
option on guard Randy Foye and the fourth-year option on Rashad McCants. The moves 
mean Foye and McCants have had their contracts extended through the 2008-09 
season. Foye will be paid $2.8 million that season, and McCants will make $2.6 
million.  
Foye averaged 10.1 points a game last season as a rookie. McCants, who played 
in 37 games last season after returning from right knee surgery, averaged 
seven points a game.  
"Randy is coming off of a season in which he was named to the NBA all-rookie 
first team and showed he has the talent to be a very good NBA player," McHale 
said. "Rashad has worked extremely hard over the past year to return from 
injury and continues to improve every day. We believe that he will return to the 
form he showed the second half of his rookie season. Both of these guys are key 
pieces to the young core of players we are building around."  
The Wolves did not exercise an option on swingman Gerald Green, who has 
struggled with shot selection and poor decisions this exhibition season. He will 
become an unrestricted free agent next summer.  
Point guard Sebastian Telfair will become a restricted free agent next 
summer.  
Rick Alonzo can be reached at ralonzo at pioneerpress.com



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