Minnesota Sports Forum

Towns and Naz Reid were Centers?

Naz and Towns both proved they could play next to Gobert last year. I think Naz is actually the better fit next to Gobert because of the mobility. At Center I think Naz is the better fit next to Randle too. The great thing about Naz's development is that he has truly become a 4/5, including on the defensive end. I think the potential of the Naz/Randle lineups are being overlooked while people complain about pairing Randle and Rudy. Barring injuries we have even more options in the frontcourt than last year on both ends of the floor. Towns' talent can get him buckets in any position on the court, but I didn't see a system on offense. I can envision one now with our current front court, particularly with Naz at Center and Randle at the 4.

I've long said Naz is actually a 7 foot wing. His handles, ability to run the floor, and outside shooting are actually more of what you'd see in a shooting guard.

His body is also pretty unusual. He's 7 feet tall, but two-thirds of that seems to be legs. On one hand, that's not great because it means he doesn't have a low center of gravity to hold defensive position. But he is still pretty damn strong and he can definitely run the floor.

His continued development will really be important for us this year.