Yeah, some of the deficiencies are why I didn't have a strong opinion on re-signing Naz. But it is damn impressive how much Naz has improved since he entered the league as an undrafted FA. And if you assume he will continue the same devotion to improving his game, those deficiencies could certainly improve.
Hope so. I looked through some of his player pairings and minutes played with other players last year and nothing stood out to me that helped me excuse his poor net rating, like "OMG, he played all his minutes with Nowell, DLO, and Forbes!".
In fact his +/- when paired with either Gobert or Kyle Anderson was HORRIBLE. So unfortunately the pattern tends to be that when guys that are generally pluses (like Anderson) are paired with Naz, they become minuses!
But the guy can go to work offensively and we do need that punch off the bench. May be things click this year for him.
So I’ve been torn on the Naz thing for years and I do the “how many possessions has the opponents scored in a row” when Naz came in. The thing that gives me some hope is when Naz started this year in the Conley or Dlo/Ant/Mcdaniels/Slow Mo lineups the wolves were really good. They were +5.5 per 100 possessions what was in the 85th percentile of the league. When he got to play center and not play with Nowell the wolves got outscored by a little bit but his top 7 lineups were positive when it comes to minutes.
Once again I am worried that Naz just became Gorgui now after he got paid and becomes a negative asset but I’m a fan of watching basketball and I like Naz and I hope he keeps improving and exceeds that contract
good stuff thanks for laying it out.
As for Naz salary I get where you are coming from but when Dieng got paid he was getting paid like a starter. His first year of his contract was over 14 million. The mid level that season was 8.4 million which was a massive almost 3 million jump from the year before. Dieng was making significantly more than the mid-level at that time. Doing some rough calculations that would be like if Naz was getting a starting salary of over 21 million this year. If Dieng had - contract that started a like 9 million a year it wouldn’t have been a terrible deal at all. Of course his contract was inflated because a bunch of guys got paid in the offseason with that massive cap jump with all that cap space and guys got PAID. That’s not gonna happen this year which is why Naz wasn’t gonna get anywhere near overpaid like Dieng did. Naz is getting a slight bump over the mid level which means he is paid like a good rotation player/fringe starter. Last season I think he proved he was at least a legit rotation player. Of course it’s not a guarantee that he will be worth his salary going forward but he has also pretty much always been productive even his rookie season and he still has relative youth and therefore some level of potential to get better on his side. Plus he is staying with his current team he isn’t changing environments which can mess some guys up…or help them have more success.
I like the guy. He has a damn near cult following in MN. I think it is too much money for a guy who had ample opportunity with our star big out, averaged like 12/5, and had bad metrics.
I thought 3/30 was fair to stay in the place he was given a chance (he arguably hated it here initially), and where fans galvanized around him. 3/36 max. Then the player option too? I don't know.
Every good team needs someone off the bench who can get you buckets. And NAZ is a guy who has proven he can do that, and I think the best is yet to come. It would be great if he was also a solid defender, but your role players don't have to be jacks of all trades. They just need to provide a skill, and the ability to score is not easy to find in a backup big. It's up to TC and the coach to find the players who fit with NAZ and make the sum of all the parts a positive.
Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 12:33 am
Every good team needs someone off the bench who can get you buckets. And NAZ is a guy who has proven he can do that, and I think the best is yet to come. It would be great if he was also a solid defender, but your role players don't have to be jacks of all trades. They just need to provide a skill, and the ability to score is not easy to find in a backup big. It's up to TC and the coach to find the players who fit with NAZ and make the sum of all the parts a positive.
I do have to remind myself the guy is still only 23 or 24. Feels like he's been around long enough to be closer to KATs age.
Yeah, some of the deficiencies are why I didn't have a strong opinion on re-signing Naz. But it is damn impressive how much Naz has improved since he entered the league as an undrafted FA. And if you assume he will continue the same devotion to improving his game, those deficiencies could certainly improve.
Hope so. I looked through some of his player pairings and minutes played with other players last year and nothing stood out to me that helped me excuse his poor net rating, like "OMG, he played all his minutes with Nowell, DLO, and Forbes!".
In fact his +/- when paired with either Gobert or Kyle Anderson was HORRIBLE. So unfortunately the pattern tends to be that when guys that are generally pluses (like Anderson) are paired with Naz, they become minuses!
But the guy can go to work offensively and we do need that punch off the bench. May be things click this year for him.
So I’ve been torn on the Naz thing for years and I do the “how many possessions has the opponents scored in a row” when Naz came in. The thing that gives me some hope is when Naz started this year in the Conley or Dlo/Ant/Mcdaniels/Slow Mo lineups the wolves were really good. They were +5.5 per 100 possessions what was in the 85th percentile of the league. When he got to play center and not play with Nowell the wolves got outscored by a little bit but his top 7 lineups were positive when it comes to minutes.
Once again I am worried that Naz just became Gorgui now after he got paid and becomes a negative asset but I’m a fan of watching basketball and I like Naz and I hope he keeps improving and exceeds that contract
Seems like Gorgui never had any one thing he did really well, whereas Naz can flat out score the ball and create matchup problems for an opposing defense.
He's probably not going to suddenly rebound better, so to me the key for him is how to defend better without fouling. May be he starts getting more respect from officials now that's he's on his second contract and has some name recognition (?). But he also has to be accountable for how he defends in the paint and figure out ways to make himself big and jostle guys without fouling.
Naz, go watch a gazillion minutes of Kevon Looney, who is a similar size and athletic profile, and get that style of defense drilled into your head!
Naz has gotten better every year and had a few last year where he was our best player on the court. Hes also our sole development story as a franchise (beyond maybe Pek). Hard for me to not want him back. Hopefully he keeps that same drive with this extra dough.
Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 12:33 am
Every good team needs someone off the bench who can get you buckets. And NAZ is a guy who has proven he can do that, and I think the best is yet to come. It would be great if he was also a solid defender, but your role players don't have to be jacks of all trades. They just need to provide a skill, and the ability to score is not easy to find in a backup big. It's up to TC and the coach to find the players who fit with NAZ and make the sum of all the parts a positive.
100%. He certainly came on as a defacto 6th man last year - scoring in bunches. As a VORP guy, I can see he's been a positive contributor. His strengths are greater than his weaknesses (defense). I think the +/- guys have legit concerns. But like you, I feel it's up to the coach to find the right line up combinations to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. You should be able to hide one weak defender in each line up. As proof - just look at how we managed to be top 10 defense last year even with DLO.
Q. Did you know coming in that Naz Reid could
be this type of player?
A. "No. I had no idea til I played here that he was this good. But I knew in training camp, like after first day. I called my father. I called a whole bunch of people this whole entire season. i was like, "yo, this dude is like a big time player, like a starting 5. Tim ain't gonna like me for this, but he's, i'll just leave it at that. He a big time player though, man. He's a dude that can go somewhere and like he's huge. He has everything in his game. The handle, you just don't see centers doing that. I had no idea he was that good. I'm glad I know now. And I'm glad he's on our team. We're deep, we got a good team. Naz is huge for us."
Dane Moore: Mike Conley on playing w/ Naz Reid: “I love Naz. Naz’s game makes our job as a PG super, super easy. His ability to shoot, guys have to bring two defenders to the ball-handler most times. And if he’s passing, it’s an easy release to him… His skill set is one that not many bigs have”
