Timberwolves decline Cody Williams’ $7.67 million option and pick up Terrence Shannon Jr. and Joan Beringer

The Minnesota Timberwolves are keeping two of their young players under contract for 2027-28 and letting a third head toward free agency. The team announced Friday that it has exercised its rookie-scale options on guard Terrence Shannon Jr. and center Joan Beringer. Jon Krawczynski reported that Minnesota will decline its fourth-year option on forward Cody Williams, and he said the call was about money rather than how Williams has looked in practice.

The Wolves will not be picking up the option on Cody Williams. From what I understand, they’ve really liked what they’ve seen from him so far. This is much more about finances. He would’ve been due $6M+ next season and that’s a lot to squeeze into a very tight cap situation

— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) October 30, 2026

Teams have until Monday, Nov. 2, to make these decisions on players drafted in the first round in 2024 and 2025.

Why Cody Williams is the one left out

Williams, 21, was the 10th pick in the 2024 draft and is the younger brother of Thunder star Jalen Williams, who is recovering from surgery on a fractured left fibula. Cody spent his first two seasons in Utah and was traded from the Jazz to Minnesota in August. He has played 11 minutes across three games for the Wolves this season and has not scored yet. Shooting has been the main problem since he came into the league: he has made under 24% of his career three-point attempts.

His option for 2027-28 was worth about $7.67 million. That is a modest number for a former lottery pick, but it is a lot for a player who is outside the rotation on a team that is already close to the league’s luxury-tax aprons next season. Krawczynski reported that the Wolves have really liked what they have seen from Williams, and that the decision was about fitting salary into a very tight cap situation.

What happens to Williams now

• He stays on the roster and is still paid in full this season.
• He becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, unless he is waived or traded first.
• Minnesota, or any team that trades for him, cannot offer him a starting salary above the $7.67 million his option would have paid. Other teams can offer more.
• Minnesota can still re-sign him next summer at a lower number, and declining the option makes that cheaper.

Shannon and Beringer earned their options

The other two decisions were easy. Shannon, the 27th pick in 2024, is averaging 14.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23.2 minutes off the bench and is shooting 44% from three. He is earning $2.8 million this season, and the option guarantees his $5.05 million salary for 2027-28. He becomes eligible for a rookie-scale extension next July.

Beringer, the 17th pick in 2025, has been part of Chris Finch’s early rotation from the start, averaging 6.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in 15.6 minutes while shooting 68.2% from the field. He earns $4.4 million this season and $4.62 million next season. Because he was drafted a year later, Minnesota has until Nov. 1, 2027, to decide on his roughly $7.1 million option for 2028-29.

Both players matter more right now with Anthony Edwards out after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Minnesota beat the Clippers 127-101 on Friday night, its second game without him, to move to 4-2.

We are tracking every team’s choices in our running tracker of option decisions.