Naz is back!

[Monster]

I'll say this about Naz signing this deal. One of the concerns especially after the Gobert trade was whether or not the Wolves would be able to keep Naz long term. Tim Connelly has gotten him to resign here twice now.

[60WinTim]

The NBA Front Office podcast guys thought it was a great deal for the Wolves. With the CAP going up by 10% each year, at least for a few years, NAZ’s final year salary will be close to what the MLE will be at that time!

[FNG]

Seems totally fair for Naz.

Very good deal for Naz, but I have to agree with Kek that it seems like an overpay. I don't think I see any other non-starters on the first two pages of Drew's list.

Like most of us, I'm gonna miss NAW.

FNG - I think it’s clear the Wolves front office views Naz as our starting PF eventually if not right away during the five-year term of this deal. And he wasn’t just a guy off the bench; he was the team’s 6th man with an 6th man of the year award under his belt while averaging over 27 minutes per game last season. I haven’t dug into which players with comparable salaries are not starters. I don’t think Jrue Holiday started for Celtics’ last season at $32.4M. I think Hartenstein came off the bench except when Holmgren was out. Hartenstein’s minutes per game last season were essentially identical to Naz Reid’s. I’m sure there some other examples. So the salary isn’t even out of line for a 6th man. But again, I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Wolves brass envision Naz as the Wolves starter at some point.

I'm not convinced, Lip...still seems like a significant overpay to me for three reasons:

1) Several posters here have questioned the narrative that there were several teams bidding for Naz, that TC was not bidding against himself. But I don't know, other than possibly Brooklyn, what teams actually had the cap space to compete with us, and nobody has been able to answer this question.
2) you mention his 6moy award. The three top vote getters this year (Pritchard, Jerome, and Beasley) combined don't make what we're going to pay Naz!
3) I'm not convinced our leadership sees him as our starting PF of the future. I see him as the classic scorer off the bench...able to put up points in bunches, but defensively challenged and not one to get his teammates involved (only 3 assists per 36 compared to Ju's 5.3). Maybe he learns how to be a better defender and distributor, but I'm skeptical. I'm glad we kept him, but 5/100 would have made more sense to me.

[Monster]

Very good deal for Naz, but I have to agree with Kek that it seems like an overpay. I don't think I see any other non-starters on the first two pages of Drew's list.

Like most of us, I'm gonna miss NAW.

FNG - I think it’s clear the Wolves front office views Naz as our starting PF eventually if not right away during the five-year term of this deal. And he wasn’t just a guy off the bench; he was the team’s 6th man with an 6th man of the year award under his belt while averaging over 27 minutes per game last season. I haven’t dug into which players with comparable salaries are not starters. I don’t think Jrue Holiday started for Celtics’ last season at $32.4M. I think Hartenstein came off the bench except when Holmgren was out. Hartenstein’s minutes per game last season were essentially identical to Naz Reid’s. I’m sure there some other examples. So the salary isn’t even out of line for a 6th man. But again, I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Wolves brass envision Naz as the Wolves starter at some point.

I'm not convinced, Lip...still seems like a significant overpay to me for three reasons:

1) Several posters here have questioned the narrative that there were several teams bidding for Naz, that TC was not bidding against himself. But I don't know, other than possibly Brooklyn, what teams actually had the cap space to compete with us, and nobody has been able to answer this question.
2) you mention his 6moy award. The three top vote getters this year (Pritchard, Jerome, and Beasley) combined don't make what we're going to pay Naz!
3) I'm not convinced our leadership sees him as our starting PF of the future. I see him as the classic scorer off the bench...able to put up points in bunches, but defensively challenged and not one to get his teammates involved (only 3 assists per 36 compared to Ju's 5.3). Maybe he learns how to be a better defender and distributor, but I'm skeptical. I'm glad we kept him, but 5/100 would have made more sense to me.

I'll add that assists aren't the only way to make your teammates better. Naz's shooting especially at Volume is something that has to be accounted for. He also is a guy that does a good job of moving the ball.

[Wolvesfan21]

Very good deal for Naz, but I have to agree with Kek that it seems like an overpay. I don't think I see any other non-starters on the first two pages of Drew's list.

Like most of us, I'm gonna miss NAW.

FNG - I think it’s clear the Wolves front office views Naz as our starting PF eventually if not right away during the five-year term of this deal. And he wasn’t just a guy off the bench; he was the team’s 6th man with an 6th man of the year award under his belt while averaging over 27 minutes per game last season. I haven’t dug into which players with comparable salaries are not starters. I don’t think Jrue Holiday started for Celtics’ last season at $32.4M. I think Hartenstein came off the bench except when Holmgren was out. Hartenstein’s minutes per game last season were essentially identical to Naz Reid’s. I’m sure there some other examples. So the salary isn’t even out of line for a 6th man. But again, I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Wolves brass envision Naz as the Wolves starter at some point.

I'm not convinced, Lip...still seems like a significant overpay to me for three reasons:

1) Several posters here have questioned the narrative that there were several teams bidding for Naz, that TC was not bidding against himself. But I don't know, other than possibly Brooklyn, what teams actually had the cap space to compete with us, and nobody has been able to answer this question.
2) you mention his 6moy award. The three top vote getters this year (Pritchard, Jerome, and Beasley) combined don't make what we're going to pay Naz!
3) I'm not convinced our leadership sees him as our starting PF of the future. I see him as the classic scorer off the bench...able to put up points in bunches, but defensively challenged and not one to get his teammates involved (only 3 assists per 36 compared to Ju's 5.3). Maybe he learns how to be a better defender and distributor, but I'm skeptical. I'm glad we kept him, but 5/100 would have made more sense to me.

I with you but I think Naz is fine on defense when Rudy is on the floor, meaning Naz simply isn't a 5, and he's not. He cannot protect the rim as a 5 or rebound well enough as a 5. I still would like to see him rebound better all around. He's also generally still improving and could still improve on defense. I wonder how much effort he's put into that end versus offense. He is skilled on offense, not a great passer but OK. He can dribble drive a bit and obviously his 3 game is legit.

As far as the money goes, he's not getting a raise basically (relative to NBA players going forward). That is the thing to realize here. The cap is going up and up and guys will be making 75+ million, (a million per regular season game soon which is just bonkers). So your paying him less then a third of super max guys. So your high end flamethrower 6th man for future MLE money is actually a good deal for the Wolves. Good deal for Naz too securing a large bag, not like he's not made enough life changing money, but he's really super set for life now.

[rapsuperstar31]

Very good deal for Naz, but I have to agree with Kek that it seems like an overpay. I don't think I see any other non-starters on the first two pages of Drew's list.

Like most of us, I'm gonna miss NAW.

FNG - I think it’s clear the Wolves front office views Naz as our starting PF eventually if not right away during the five-year term of this deal. And he wasn’t just a guy off the bench; he was the team’s 6th man with an 6th man of the year award under his belt while averaging over 27 minutes per game last season. I haven’t dug into which players with comparable salaries are not starters. I don’t think Jrue Holiday started for Celtics’ last season at $32.4M. I think Hartenstein came off the bench except when Holmgren was out. Hartenstein’s minutes per game last season were essentially identical to Naz Reid’s. I’m sure there some other examples. So the salary isn’t even out of line for a 6th man. But again, I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Wolves brass envision Naz as the Wolves starter at some point.

I'm not convinced, Lip...still seems like a significant overpay to me for three reasons:

1) Several posters here have questioned the narrative that there were several teams bidding for Naz, that TC was not bidding against himself. But I don't know, other than possibly Brooklyn, what teams actually had the cap space to compete with us, and nobody has been able to answer this question.
2) you mention his 6moy award. The three top vote getters this year (Pritchard, Jerome, and Beasley) combined don't make what we're going to pay Naz!
3) I'm not convinced our leadership sees him as our starting PF of the future. I see him as the classic scorer off the bench...able to put up points in bunches, but defensively challenged and not one to get his teammates involved (only 3 assists per 36 compared to Ju's 5.3). Maybe he learns how to be a better defender and distributor, but I'm skeptical. I'm glad we kept him, but 5/100 would have made more sense to me.

Teams would have had interest in performing a sign and trade for Naz, it would have cost them a draft pick or two to dump a player on Brooklyn to do that.

KCP, Marcus Smart, and 5.8 points per game in the playoffs this year Kyle Kuzma all make more than Naz next season.

[Monster]

Here is a comparison to consider.

What Naz just signed is the same deal that John Collins signed back in 2021 with Atlanta.

Salary cap in 2021-2022 season 112 million
Salary cap this coming season somewhere around 138-140 million. By Naz's 4th year of his deal the Cap is projected to be over 200 million. The full MLE is expected to be around 18 million that year and Naz will likely be making 26 million which is about what Collins just opted into this year...but by then the Cap will be 50 million higher by then which is pretty significant. Collins might be a little overpaid right now (partly due to the lack of teams that can pay FAs) but it's not like he is some scrub opting into that deal this year.

[D-Loser25]

FNG - I think it’s clear the Wolves front office views Naz as our starting PF eventually if not right away during the five-year term of this deal. And he wasn’t just a guy off the bench; he was the team’s 6th man with an 6th man of the year award under his belt while averaging over 27 minutes per game last season. I haven’t dug into which players with comparable salaries are not starters. I don’t think Jrue Holiday started for Celtics’ last season at $32.4M. I think Hartenstein came off the bench except when Holmgren was out. Hartenstein’s minutes per game last season were essentially identical to Naz Reid’s. I’m sure there some other examples. So the salary isn’t even out of line for a 6th man. But again, I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Wolves brass envision Naz as the Wolves starter at some point.

I'm not convinced, Lip...still seems like a significant overpay to me for three reasons:

1) Several posters here have questioned the narrative that there were several teams bidding for Naz, that TC was not bidding against himself. But I don't know, other than possibly Brooklyn, what teams actually had the cap space to compete with us, and nobody has been able to answer this question.
2) you mention his 6moy award. The three top vote getters this year (Pritchard, Jerome, and Beasley) combined don't make what we're going to pay Naz!
3) I'm not convinced our leadership sees him as our starting PF of the future. I see him as the classic scorer off the bench...able to put up points in bunches, but defensively challenged and not one to get his teammates involved (only 3 assists per 36 compared to Ju's 5.3). Maybe he learns how to be a better defender and distributor, but I'm skeptical. I'm glad we kept him, but 5/100 would have made more sense to me.

Teams would have had interest in performing a sign and trade for Naz, it would have cost them a draft pick or two to dump a player on Brooklyn to do that.

KCP, Marcus Smart, and 5.8 points per game in the playoffs this year Kyle Kuzma all make more than Naz next season.

What happened to GM’s having some balls and saying “if you think you’re worth 5/125, then go get it”

[rapsuperstar31]

I'm not convinced, Lip...still seems like a significant overpay to me for three reasons:

1) Several posters here have questioned the narrative that there were several teams bidding for Naz, that TC was not bidding against himself. But I don't know, other than possibly Brooklyn, what teams actually had the cap space to compete with us, and nobody has been able to answer this question.
2) you mention his 6moy award. The three top vote getters this year (Pritchard, Jerome, and Beasley) combined don't make what we're going to pay Naz!
3) I'm not convinced our leadership sees him as our starting PF of the future. I see him as the classic scorer off the bench...able to put up points in bunches, but defensively challenged and not one to get his teammates involved (only 3 assists per 36 compared to Ju's 5.3). Maybe he learns how to be a better defender and distributor, but I'm skeptical. I'm glad we kept him, but 5/100 would have made more sense to me.

Teams would have had interest in performing a sign and trade for Naz, it would have cost them a draft pick or two to dump a player on Brooklyn to do that.

KCP, Marcus Smart, and 5.8 points per game in the playoffs this year Kyle Kuzma all make more than Naz next season.

What happened to GM’s having some balls and saying “if you think you’re worth 5/125, then go get it”

You can comfortably do that for a restricted free agent. If you do that for an unrestricted free agent, they just leave you without letting you counter.

[FNG]

Teams would have had interest in performing a sign and trade for Naz, it would have cost them a draft pick or two to dump a player on Brooklyn to do that.

KCP, Marcus Smart, and 5.8 points per game in the playoffs this year Kyle Kuzma all make more than Naz next season.

What happened to GM’s having some balls and saying “if you think you’re worth 5/125, then go get it”

You can comfortably do that for a restricted free agent. If you do that for an unrestricted free agent, they just leave you without letting you counter.

But again, Rap, to what team? Maybe Brooklyn, but would Naz really want to go to that horrible team with no chance to be any good for just a couple million more...if they even would have offered a couple million more. Don't get me wrong...I'm happy to keep Naz here. but I think TC had to overpay because of the PR aspect...Naz is so popular here, and there might have been a revolt if he had left.