Timberwolves Exercise Rookie Options on Five Players

According to Yahoo! Sports' Shams Charania, the Timberwolves exercised 2016-2017 rookie options on five players Wednesday: Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Adreian Payne and Andrew Wiggins.

General Manager Milt Newton had until the Nov. 2 deadline to make decisions on the respective options, but he took care of business ahead of time.

Although Payne didn't make a significant impact for the Wolves last season, it makes sense that Minnesota will keep him around as a reserve to see what type of unlocked potential remains, especially considering his affordability. It is not surprising that the Timberwolves also exercised the third-year options for LaVine and Wiggins and fourth-year options on Dieng and Muhammad.

All of the options picked up are based on the players' first-round rookie contracts and are as follows (in order of cost):

Adreian Payne: $2,022,240
Zach LaVine: $2,240,880
Gorgui Dieng: $2,348,783
Shabazz Muhammad: $3,046,299
Andrew Wiggins: $6,006,600

Hopefully for Minnesota, its investment in these young players will pay off moving forward. The Wolves hold a 1-5 record as they head into their final preseason game Friday. The regular season will tip-off on the road Oct. 28 against the Lakers.