Wolves at work on Andrew Wiggins extension

MANKATO – Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor reiterated on Friday that the team is working on signing forward Andrew Wiggins to a five-year maximum contract extension, saying that those discussions are in the early stages.

"First of all, I think he likes it here, we like him, he can get the very best contract from me, better than he can get from anyone else," Taylor, who also owns the Star Tribune, said in Mankato. "I don't think we have any trouble of offering him the max anyway."

Wiggins, 22, has been linked several times this week to rumors about a potential trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who reportedly has expressed a desire to be dealt.

Taylor said that the Wolves' plans involve extending Wiggins now and Karl-Anthony Towns next year.

"We are talking to [Wiggins'] agent right now about extending him out another five years, so we can do that," Taylor said. "Karl, we won't do that until next year. Wiggins, we want to sign him to a long-term contract, we want to keep him here, and we're negotiating with his agent. But we just started that negotiation, and we have quite some time to get that done."

The 6-8 Wiggins was drafted No. 1 overall by Cleveland in 2014, then soon dealt to the Wolves as part of the trade for Kevin Love. Last season, Wiggins averaged 23.6 points per game, playing all 82 games for the Wolves.

Asked about the details of Wiggins' contract, Taylor said there isn't much to negotiate, because Wiggins will get a maximum deal in the range of $150 million. "We're not really negotiating anything like that [money]," Taylor said. "There shouldn't be any problem."