Naz Reid

[Lipoli390]

At some point a particular net rating stat doesn’t carry much weight. Naz has good advanced stats, a nice upward trajectory in his development, and was playing tremendous ball shortly before his injury last season. But even more importantly, consider what his teammates are saying about him and his game. Austin Rivers was so impressed that he sent a text to his dad praising Naz. Austin isn’t a great player, but no one can question his basketball acumen. Mike Conley’s praise of Naz is even more compelling. These comments aren’t about liking Naz as a person. They’re about loving Naz Reid’s game.

Here’s another comment on how Naz Reid is viewed around the League:

Jake Fischer
@JakeLFischer
·
14h
Naz Reid coming off the free agency board will have some ripple effects. Not sure exactly how wide-reaching, but Reid was seen as the premier backup/spot-start big on the market similar to how Isaiah Hartenstein last summer was at top of a few teams’ lists for that type of spot.

Wolves fans should be (and most are) thrilled by the fact that Naz has re-signed with the Wolves and that he’s re-signed for fair market value. In other words, the Wolves didn’t have to overpay to keep him as they have to keep or attract players in the past.

Re-signing Naz will make it even more difficult to avoid the second-apron cliff next year. But as one commenter pointed out, re-signing Naz also gives the Wolves more options to address the financial issues the team will face next summer.

[Lipoli390]

Here’s a great Jon K article on Naz and what happened behind the scenes leading up to the deal:

https://theathletic.com/4639975/2023/06 ... ee-agency/

Here’s the excerpt that describes how the deal ultimately got done:

“Get it done,” owner Glen Taylor instructed his front office.

Taylor and his partners, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, did not want Reid to get to free agency, where several teams were waiting and could offer the 23-year-old more money or more playing time and a bigger role. The three of them consulted with president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and head coach Chris Finch and concluded that they couldn’t let a player of Reid’s work ethic, skill level and desire to remain in Minnesota leave.

In three years since signing as an undrafted rookie free agent, Reid had become one of the organization’s greatest player development stories. He came to Minnesota an overweight big man with a raw skill set and an injured foot. By the end of his third season, he was a lean, mean, dunking machine who had dropped 30 pounds to become a real problem for opposing big men and a fan favorite at home.

Taylor and his wife, Becky, have grown to become huge fans of Reid themselves, watching him grow up in front of their eyes from a G League center into an important part of the Timberwolves rotation. Over the last two seasons since joining the ownership group, Lore and Rodriguez quickly came to respect what Reid meant to their team and understood how important it was to keep him, even if it meant paying a premium.

With the ownership group fully on board, Connelly re-engaged with Reid and his representatives, Sean Kennedy and Jeff Schwartz from Excel Sports Management, for one final push to get a deal done. On Sunday, the two sides came to terms on a three-year, $42 million deal that includes a player option for the final season.

[Lipoli390]

Another excerpt from Jon K’s article:

For the Timberwolves, it was a win because they secured the services of a young, talented player despite having two more highly-paid players at his position. Reid was just days away from hitting the free-agent market as one of the most coveted big men available. Teams like San Antonio and Sacramento had money and playing time to burn, but Reid chose to sign and stay in Minnesota. That show of faith says something for a team that is trying to alter a long-held perception of it as a place players look to avoid rather than long to stay.

The deal was the culmination of talks between the Timberwolves and Reid that started last summer, almost immediately after Connelly was hired to take over the front office. In the early stages, it was difficult to put a value on Reid, who had displayed an impressive work ethic and commitment to reshape his body and improve his game during his first three seasons in Minnesota. But by July, the Wolves had traded for Gobert, giving them two max salary centers on their roster in front of Reid, so how much could they responsibly play him while committing so much money and playing time to Gobert and Towns?

Reid remained in Minnesota for most of the summer to prepare for a pivotal season. When he showed up to training camp in the fall, it was clear right from the outset that he meant business. He showed off an improved handle that allowed him to break down players from the perimeter and drive to the hole. He shot it from 3 at a higher volume and maintained his accuracy, a big effort from him to prove he could share the court with Gobert. And his constant work on his body had produced the most athletically explosive version of Reid that we have seen, his dunks punctuating camp practices while Towns and Gobert watched with injuries.

“I had no idea ’til I played here that he was this good,” veteran Austin Rivers said early in the season. “But I knew in training camp, like after the first day. I called my father (coach Doc Rivers); I called a whole bunch of people this entire season. I was like, ‘Yo, this dude is like a big-time player, like a starting 5.’ ”

[Lipoli390]

Some more from Jon K’s article:

He delivered his best season, averaging career highs in points (11.5), rebounds (4.9) and field-goal percentage (.537). In his 11 starts, those numbers jumped to 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. The Timberwolves were 7-4 in those games.

Reid put up some monster nights this season, including 26 points and eight rebounds in a win over Atlanta, 30 points, nine rebounds and five steals in a loss to Golden State, 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in a win over the Warriors and 27 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Dallas. But it wasn’t just the stats that endeared him to fans. It was how he piled them up that got their blood flowing.

He is one of the most ferocious dunkers on the team.

“I always thought that Naz was super nice and then I ended up on a team with him and I’m like, that’s crazy. He’s the truth for sure,” Anthony Edwards said.

There is a different kind of energy when Reid enters a game. His slick handle, explosiveness at the rim and nonstop movement endear him to teammates who have played with him for three years or three weeks.

“I thought he was good playing against him but I didn’t know his bag, he has such a variety in his bag,” Mike Conley said not long after coming over from Utah in a trade. “He can just do so many different things. He’s like a guard at his position.”

[Lipoli390]

Final excerpt from Jon K’s article. I’ve bolded what I consider the most important passage in this portion of the article:

All of the work Reid put in on his game was geared toward convincing the coaching staff that he could be more than a small-ball center. He wanted to prove he could play alongside Towns or Gobert, hold up defensively and be versatile enough offensively to make the pairing work. He was firmly in the middle of the Timberwolves’ best stretch of the season — four straight wins at New York, against Atlanta and at Golden State and Sacramento — in March that had the team believing it was primed for the playoffs. Then he broke his wrist and missed the final five games of the regular season and the playoffs, and teammates lamented his absence in the five-game loss to Denver.

The fan base seems to love Reid even more than his teammates. There is aespect and admiration woven into a story like Reid’s, an appreciation for the work he has put in, starting with former head coach Ryan Saunders and Iowa Wolves coach Sam Newman-Beck and carrying on through Finch and assistants coaches and player development specialists Kevin Hanson and Joe Boylan.

Even on a team with the ultra-popular Edwards, Reid has been the most meme-able Timberwolves player. Every highlight play is met with a simple, two-word response that is meant to imply that nothing more needs to be said.

Naz Reid.

[Lipoli390]

The last excerpt I posted supports my revised view of Naz as more of a PF than a small-ball center. I think he showed he fits and plays well next to either KAT or Rudy, although I think he fits a bit better next to Rudy. I don’t mean to further feed the KAT trade narrative, but there are some realities that point in that direction.

[BloopOracle]

I've always been baffled at how Naz came here as a fat out of shape player and instantly turned into a relentless worker with a strict diet. I'm glad because it ultimately gave us the ability to sign him, but man did he miss out on some big money and job security not doing so a year earlier.

[Wolvesfan21]

The interesting speculation is that how Naz signed before coming a FA and how the Wolves had to pony up to get him to sign. Is a KAT trade imminent? It seems more likely considering how the Naz signing played out and what they paid him, also considering what the contracts look like in a couple years when they need to pony up for Ant and Jaden.

Is Lore and ARod going "All In" to win now to try and gain momentum to get a new arena? I kind of felt like that was part of the Rudy trade also.

[Lipoli390]

The interesting speculation is that how Naz signed before coming a FA and how the Wolves had to pony up to get him to sign. Is a KAT trade imminent? It seems more likely considering how the Naz signing played out and what they paid him, also considering what the contracts look like in a couple years when they need to pony up for Ant and Jaden.

Is Lore and ARod going "All In" to win now to try and gain momentum to get a new arena? I kind of felt like that was part of the Rudy trade also.

All good questions, WF21. I don’t think a KAT trade is imminent. But I do anticipate the Wolves moving KAT or Rudy next summer. If not, they’ll likely move Naz.

[60WinTim]

The interesting speculation is that how Naz signed before coming a FA and how the Wolves had to pony up to get him to sign. Is a KAT trade imminent? It seems more likely considering how the Naz signing played out and what they paid him, also considering what the contracts look like in a couple years when they need to pony up for Ant and Jaden.

Is Lore and ARod going "All In" to win now to try and gain momentum to get a new arena? I kind of felt like that was part of the Rudy trade also.

All good questions, WF21. I don’t think a KAT trade is imminent. But I do anticipate the Wolves moving KAT or Rudy next summer. If not, they’ll likely move Naz.

Here is the problem with waiting until next summer. To have a shot at reducing salary, one or both of these two things need to happen: 1) trade KAT this summer (or deadline) at 36 mil rather than waiting until the 2024-25 offseason when his salary is over 50 mil, and 2) make a trade that returns expiring contract(s), which you cannot do in the 2025-25 season. So any shot of getting under the apron requires an action either this offseason, or at the trade deadline.