Wolves exercise contract options on five players, including Wiggins

The Minnesota Timberwolves exercised the contract options on five players Wednesday, locking up some franchise cornerstones early.

The team announced that it had applied the third-year options to Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Adreian Payne, as well as the fourth-year options to Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad.

The reigning NBA rookie of the year, Wiggins, 20, averaged 16.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, he was acquired via trade by the Wolves in exchange for Kevin Love.

LaVine, also 20, averaged 10.1 points and 3.6 assists in 24.7 minutes over 77 games in his rookie season. The 13th overall pick in last year's draft, he was the Sprite Slam Dunk champion during All-Star Weekend and was named to the 2014-15 All-Rookie Second Team.

Payne was originally selected by the Hawks with the 15th overall pick in the 2014 draft, but the Wolves acquired him in a trade on Feb. 10. The 24-year-old forward averaged 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in 32 games overall last season.

In two seasons with the Wolves, Muhammad, 22, has posted 8.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 75 total contests. Last year, he averaged 13.5 points in 22.8 minutes per game.

Dieng, 25, has averaged 7.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22.6 minutes over 133 games with Minnesota. The Wolves acquired the draft rights to Dieng and Muhammad from the Utah Jazz on June 27, 2013.