Here comes the chatter!

[thedoper]

What is Naz worth now? He has his warts but he is a good big man when he plays with confidence. He'd be like most of the MLE or something like it which would mean Dlo would be all luxury tax to sign if we dont make a trade. Quite a predicament coming with Naz really playing well in his role.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

It should also be mentioned that you do not trade for Rudy Gobert on a supermax contract unless ownership is willing to venture into the luxury tax. It's pretty much unavoidable if you're a team trying to contend for a championship at some point. That calculation had to be made prior to swinging that deal. Now is NOT the time to be cheap.

[WallyBall]

I like TC's aggression, but only because he has an eye for talent. I think TC and Rosas both like to wheel and deal, and fortunately that has worked out turning our roster from what it was 5-7 years ago into what it is today. Many may criticize the imperfect roster balance that both of them gave us, but outside of our top 3 guys in past years, we never had this deep of a team before.

If it's Hyland he is after, make no bones about it, I'm on board!

[Monster]

1. The Timberwolves need Naz Reid on the roster for the rest of this season. Given Karl-Anthony Towns' calf injury and Rudy Gobert's groin injury, Reid's importance as an emergency replacement in the starting lineup and main rotation is very high. Minnesota can get away with Luka Garza and Nathan Knight chipping in with spot minutes off the bench, but they can't rely on them to do what Reid has done all year.

2. Not trading Reid before the deadline doesn't mean he'll walk in free agency for nothing. He has several reported suitors that project to be well over the cap next season, which means that if they want Reid they'll have to be willing to orchestrate a sign-and-trade, assuming Reid commands more than mid-level money. Reid doesn't have to sign with them, obviously, but as a free agent wouldn't you rather secure the bag with a competent and competitive team over a team that is neither? This is all to say that I think a sign-and-trade could very much be in play this off-season.

3. What if we're overestimating how much Reid can command on the free agent market? I just mentioned Reid making more than mid-level money, but what if that's not the case due to his less-than-stellar defensive/rebounding metrics? How much is a center that struggles in those areas worth? Is it possible that Reid's market doesn't materialize as expected and he's left with an Isaiah Hartenstein-like deal? Remember, Hartenstein signed for two-years, $16-million as a 24-year old. Hartenstein, like Reid, had proven to be a quality rotation big on a playoff team. If that's the scenario that unfolds I think Minnesota would be wise to make Reid a competitive offer and figure the fit out later. If nothing else, he would be more useful in a trade a year from now with a larger salary.

All of this is good stuff to consider I agree with most of this post.

I will say again it seems hard to imagine that Naz would want to come back to this team with arguably 3 players ahead of him in Gobert, Towns and Anderson plus maybe some knowledge that he is less likely to share the floor with another center. It seems like he would have a better opportunity elsewhere. It's interesting to compare him to Hartenstein. Of course last offseason there were fewer teams with more Thant he mid level to spend. Still sometimes a player can end up missing the boat. You just never know. Which leads me to the next point.

The question I think what is the return we get for Naz in a trade. We really don't know what his value is around the league now and in a few months. I think we al assume his value has gone up based on his play this season but how much? Nobody is looking to just give him away. Are people here willing to trade him for a random 2nd round pick than lose him for nothing? Multiple 2nd rounders? Protected 1st? A young similar player to Naz at another position? Some sort of vet help? To me the question of whether Naz needs to be kept this year over trading him for whatever we can get comes down to what kind of return we get. Let's say it's Naz and Forbes to a team for a couple 2nd rounders and 2 open roster spots. That's not a thrilling return but the Wolves could also sign a center off the street. Guys that were available last I looked where Whiteside and hell they could even bring Greg Monroe back although I'd hope for someone better. Having him and Anderson as passing bigs would be fun though. :) meanwhile could they add a bigger wing/forward that's a current FA to help if Prince gets hurt again. Maybe a PG if McLaughlin can't stay healthy? Maybe with dumping 2 roster spots they can bring on a player with more salary than they otherwise could in a trade and basically get that player for nothing while reducing Lux tax etc? I'm not suggesting this is an awesome return or something I would do but as others have pointed out there are various possibilities. I don't know what the market actually is for Naz. I like to think it's pretty decent but idk. I'm fine moving him (or even other players) but it's all about what they can get back and what they might be able to do to bolster the roster for the rest of the season during or after various moves.

Personally I'm not really getting my hopes up for a deal. Sure anything can happen but there is evidence to say it won't. I'm personally not getting my hopes up. I'll try and quit being a wet blanket. We are basically a week out so we will find out soon enough.

Go Wolves!

[Lipoli390]

There are certainly reasons to seriously consider trading Naz by the deadline depending on the return. However, I think Cam nailed why we absolutely should NOT trade him this month. KAT's injury and uncertainty over his return combined with Gobert's ongoing groin issues ultimately persuade me that it would be a big mistake to trade Naz this month. Naz Reid stepped in last night and gave us 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block with only 1 turnover. There are no free agent bigs out there who could do anything remotely close to what Naz did last night (and has done in many other games filling in for KAT or Gobert this season. If this organization is serious about competing for a title this season, which is what the Gobert deal was all about, then it's imperative to keep Naz given the team's injury situation.

I also agree with Cam it's not a certainty that Naz will just walk without any compensation next summer. He might decide to re-sign, although I don't think that's likely with KAT and Rudy here. More likely, the Wolves will be in a position to do a sign-and-trade deal to facilitate Reid's move to another team where he has a better chance of playing. So we could get just as much value in return for Naz next July as we would get this month. Finally, I'm not convinced the Wolves won't move Rudy in the offseason. Is that likely? No. But it's possible, especially if the Wolves don't finish strong this season. If Rudy is traded, that would open the door to Naz wanting to stay.

Bottom line - Keep Naz for the rest of this season and figure things out next summer. Now there's always the possibly of an offer we can't refuse. If a non-lottery team comes knocking and offers two future lottery-protected first round picks and a salary match for Naz, it would be hard to turn that deal down. But I don't see that happening.

[Coolbreeze44]

We are not competing for a title this season. Sure it would be great, but Ant isn't ready for that yet, and therefore the team isn't. Naz needs to go for the best deal we can get.

[Sundog]

Finally, I'm not convinced the Wolves won't move Rudy in the offseason. Is that likely? No. But it's possible, especially if the Wolves don't finish strong this season. If Rudy is traded, that would open the door to Naz wanting to stay.

I think it might be more likely that KAT gets traded than Rudy ... the return would be somewhat greater than with Rudy, and this team has learned to win with a combination of Rudy, Anderson, Naz, Knight, Garza.

To be clear, I don't think trading either KAT or Rudy is likely, though. But I think holding onto Naz beyond the trade deadline increases the number of wins the rest of this season and could allow trading KAT or Rudy this summer.

[Coolbreeze44]

I'm very much okay with holding on to Naz and peddling KAT this offseason. Move him to OKC and get a shit ton of draft picks for him. That would be a great outcome for us.

[Monster]

There are certainly reasons to seriously consider trading Naz by the deadline depending on the return. However, I think Cam nailed why we absolutely should NOT trade him this month. KAT's injury and uncertainty over his return combined with Gobert's ongoing groin issues ultimately persuade me that it would be a big mistake to trade Naz this month. Naz Reid stepped in last night and gave us 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block with only 1 turnover. There are no free agent bigs out there who could do anything remotely close to what Naz did last night (and has done in many other games filling in for KAT or Gobert this season. If this organization is serious about competing for a title this season, which is what the Gobert deal was all about, then it's imperative to keep Naz given the team's injury situation.

I also agree with Cam it's not a certainty that Naz will just walk without any compensation next summer. He might decide to re-sign, although I don't think that's likely with KAT and Rudy here. More likely, the Wolves will be in a position to do a sign-and-trade deal to facilitate Reid's move to another team where he has a better chance of playing. So we could get just as much value in return for Naz next July as we would get this month. Finally, I'm not convinced the Wolves won't move Rudy in the offseason. Is that likely? No. But it's possible, especially if the Wolves don't finish strong this season. If Rudy is traded, that would open the door to Naz wanting to stay.

Bottom line - Keep Naz for the rest of this season and figure things out next summer. Now there's always the possibly of an offer we can't refuse. If a non-lottery team comes knocking and offers two future lottery-protected first round picks and a salary match for Naz, it would be hard to turn that deal down. But I don't see that happening.

Lip I think there is a FA that could absolutely step in and put up some pretty nice stats as he did it last season backup up Gobert. Hassan Whiteside. Now he can't do it the way Naz does but he is a better rebounder and rim protector which could be nice to have although I'm not sure last night would have been the game for that. I'm not desperately wanting to sign Whiteside but that's a guy that could possibly actually help depending on what happens. Again I don't think much happens with the Wolves in the trade market especially since they are currently playing pretty well. I think if a team offered even 1 protected first round pick (not one that turns into two 2nd rounders) for Naz it would actually be hard to turn down. Draft picks are obviously really valuable ways to add to a roster but if there are people in your organization with a real eye for talent a roster spot can get you good/worthwhile players. Naz, McLaughlin (and maybe even Garza and Knight have shown signs) are examples of that.

[Lipoli390]

There are certainly reasons to seriously consider trading Naz by the deadline depending on the return. However, I think Cam nailed why we absolutely should NOT trade him this month. KAT's injury and uncertainty over his return combined with Gobert's ongoing groin issues ultimately persuade me that it would be a big mistake to trade Naz this month. Naz Reid stepped in last night and gave us 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block with only 1 turnover. There are no free agent bigs out there who could do anything remotely close to what Naz did last night (and has done in many other games filling in for KAT or Gobert this season. If this organization is serious about competing for a title this season, which is what the Gobert deal was all about, then it's imperative to keep Naz given the team's injury situation.

I also agree with Cam it's not a certainty that Naz will just walk without any compensation next summer. He might decide to re-sign, although I don't think that's likely with KAT and Rudy here. More likely, the Wolves will be in a position to do a sign-and-trade deal to facilitate Reid's move to another team where he has a better chance of playing. So we could get just as much value in return for Naz next July as we would get this month. Finally, I'm not convinced the Wolves won't move Rudy in the offseason. Is that likely? No. But it's possible, especially if the Wolves don't finish strong this season. If Rudy is traded, that would open the door to Naz wanting to stay.

Bottom line - Keep Naz for the rest of this season and figure things out next summer. Now there's always the possibly of an offer we can't refuse. If a non-lottery team comes knocking and offers two future lottery-protected first round picks and a salary match for Naz, it would be hard to turn that deal down. But I don't see that happening.

Lip I think there is a FA that could absolutely step in and put up some pretty nice stats as he did it last season backup up Gobert. Hassan Whiteside. Now he can't do it the way Naz does but he is a better rebounder and rim protector which could be nice to have although I'm not sure last night would have been the game for that. I'm not desperately wanting to sign Whiteside but that's a guy that could possibly actually help depending on what happens. Again I don't think much happens with the Wolves in the trade market especially since they are currently playing pretty well. I think if a team offered even 1 protected first round pick (not one that turns into two 2nd rounders) for Naz it would actually be hard to turn down. Draft picks are obviously really valuable ways to add to a roster but if there are people in your organization with a real eye for talent a roster spot can get you good/worthwhile players. Naz, McLaughlin (and maybe even Garza and Knight have shown signs) are examples of that.

I can understand the value you put on Whiteside. I just don't trust the guy. He's always been a bit of a head case whose effort comes and goes. For that reason alone, I wouldn't want him on the roster as a replacement for Naz. A couple other reasons. First, unlike Naz, Whiteside would have a learning curve for integrating into the team and there just isn't time for that given how tight the West with the Wolves as close to being a lottery team as they are to being a 3rd seed. Second, Whiteside strikes me as a poor fit for this team in the mold of Gobert except that Gobert is so talented defensively and such a good screener on offense that he can still be a substantial positive for the team in spite of the fit issues. The Wolves could end up in 3rd place and advance deep into the playoffs depending or end up in the lottery. We need every win we can get and Naz give us a much better chance of winning than Whiteside or any other free agent big I can think of in his role.