Free agent Ayo Dosunmu is returning to the Timberwolves on a five-year, $112MM contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).

The final season is a player option, Charania adds.

President of basketball operations Tim Connelly said after the Wolves were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals that re-signing Dosunmu would be a top priority. The 26-year-old would have had multiple suitors if he had reached the open market, tweets Jon Krawcynski of The Athletic.

Minnesota acquired Dosunmu and Julian Phillips from Chicago ahead of the February deadline for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks.

A 6’4 combo guard who starred in college at Illinois, Dosunmu was drafted by the Bulls with the 38th pick in 2021. He turned out to be a steal at that spot, outperforming many of the players selected ahead of him in his five years in the league.

Dosunmu is coming off a career-best season in which he averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 69 games with the Bulls and Wolves (27.3 minutes per contest). He posted an outstanding shooting line of .517/.439/.876.

Dosunmu also played well in the playoffs for Minnesota, memorably erupting for an ultra-efficient 43 points in Game 4 of the first-round series vs. Denver. Overall, he averaged 15.6 PPG, 4.1 APG and 3.6 RPG on .500/.425/.926 shooting in 10 postseason outings (29.2 MPG).

The Timberwolves agreed to trade Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick in this week’s draft to the Nets for the 33rd pick. That move gave Minnesota plenty of financial flexibility to re-sign Dosunmu and make other additions, which could come on the trade or free agent markets.

Locking in Dosunmu to a lucrative long-term contract means the Wolves now have Dosunmu, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid all under contract through at least 2028/29. Reid is expected to be Minnesota’s starting power forward next season in the wake of the Randle trade, per Krawcynski (Twitter link).