Naz Reid went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft after his widely publicized time with the “Jelly Fam” led to a D1 scholarship at LSU. Part of the reason for his draft day fall was his weight and his bafflingly high body fat percentage, which nearly set a record at the combine.
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Since then, however, the big man from New Jersey has grown into a fringe starter and managed to win Sixth Man of the Year in 2024. He has been part of the most successful period of Minnesota Timberwolves history, as the team won a playoff series in back-to-back years for the first time, and is well deserving of a raise in free agency.
That talented player that many feel Reid has become failed to appear in the team’s Western Conference Finals matchup with the OKC Thunder, though. Naz was tentative, shot the ball poorly and turned the ball over five times in the Game 5 blowout that sent Minnesota home.
What was expected to be a guaranteed re-signing with the Wolves is now tentative, as Sam Amick reports. In his exit interview, Reid claimed he was ready to be a starter, but that seems unlikely with the current frontcourt of Julius Randle, who will also be a free agent, and Rudy Gobert.
“There’s limited cap space available this summer. The Wolves clearly want to keep him, but given his rare skill set, do you think he could be a top priority for any other teams?” posed Alex Speers.
Amick responded, “Before this series, I remember about a month ago… they were saying, ‘Yes, we have interest in Kevin Durant,’ but Naz is the priority right now.”
At 24 years old, Reid is still young enough to take another step if given the opportunity, but this Wolves roster may not be able to offer him that environment. Amick opined that the Wolves could potentially sign and trade Naz as part of a package for Durant, giving the Suns a dynamic young player while saving money on their luxury tax bill.
The most likely option still seems to be Reid’s return to Minnesota. He is a quality young player who is also beloved by the fanbase to the point of near cult-like devotion. But it would be silly not to look at sign-and-trade options. The Brooklyn Nets are the only team that could sign Reid outright, so anyone else would have to play ball with the Wolves.
Still, a young core of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and last year’s eighth overall pick, Rob Dillingham, is nothing to sneeze at and could revitalize a Wolves team starting to age out of contention.
