The Naz Reid Thread

[BlacJacMac]

I think its probably close to what he's making now. Not more.

He still rebounds like a wing and doesn't really defend the perimeter or the paint.

And last year's 3pt shooting is looking more like an outlier, as he's much closer to the previous 3 years.

If you take away his "folk hero status", is he a guy you'd consider part of your core or would you look to be replacing/upgrading him?

I want to sidestep part of this for a moment and add additional context. Naz is making $15,022,464 with an opt in, and the non tax payer MLE is $14,099,520. That means that to get a substantial raise, it must come from cap space. Who has a great enough need at PF, enough cap space, and the proper roster hole to pursue Naz. SAC comes to mind, but they have Sochan, and Naz is a major defensive downgrade from him. Who else?

To your point, I would be very curious to see his defensive metrics without Rudy. He really is more of a 3/4 than 4/5 this year and last year. But his rebounding is substandard for a starting 4, and his assisting is substandard for a starting 3.

Or a trade.

[winforlose]

I think its probably close to what he's making now. Not more.

He still rebounds like a wing and doesn't really defend the perimeter or the paint.

And last year's 3pt shooting is looking more like an outlier, as he's much closer to the previous 3 years.

If you take away his "folk hero status", is he a guy you'd consider part of your core or would you look to be replacing/upgrading him?

I want to sidestep part of this for a moment and add additional context. Naz is making $15,022,464 with an opt in, and the non tax payer MLE is $14,099,520. That means that to get a substantial raise, it must come from cap space. Who has a great enough need at PF, enough cap space, and the proper roster hole to pursue Naz. SAC comes to mind, but they have Sochan, and Naz is a major defensive downgrade from him. Who else?

To your point, I would be very curious to see his defensive metrics without Rudy. He really is more of a 3/4 than 4/5 this year and last year. But his rebounding is substandard for a starting 4, and his assisting is substandard for a starting 3.

Or a trade.

More complicated than that. We cannot take salary back that exceeds his outgoing money. He has to opt out, then sign and trade, and I don’t believe we are allowed to take a player back, but I am not sure about sign and trade rules for 2nd apron teams or to prevent hardcap at the 2nd apron.

[BlacJacMac]

I want to sidestep part of this for a moment and add additional context. Naz is making $15,022,464 with an opt in, and the non tax payer MLE is $14,099,520. That means that to get a substantial raise, it must come from cap space. Who has a great enough need at PF, enough cap space, and the proper roster hole to pursue Naz. SAC comes to mind, but they have Sochan, and Naz is a major defensive downgrade from him. Who else?

To your point, I would be very curious to see his defensive metrics without Rudy. He really is more of a 3/4 than 4/5 this year and last year. But his rebounding is substandard for a starting 4, and his assisting is substandard for a starting 3.

Or a trade.

More complicated than that. We cannot take salary back that exceeds his outgoing money. He has to opt out, then sign and trade, and I don’t believe we are allowed to take a player back, but I am not sure about sign and trade rules for 2nd apron teams or to prevent hardcap at the 2nd apron.

Or we trade him before the deadline.

[winforlose]

Or a trade.

More complicated than that. We cannot take salary back that exceeds his outgoing money. He has to opt out, then sign and trade, and I don’t believe we are allowed to take a player back, but I am not sure about sign and trade rules for 2nd apron teams or to prevent hardcap at the 2nd apron.

Or we trade him before the deadline.

You break up the most effective floor unit we have, promote Randle to even more prominence, lose key size, and only have $13,986,432 to bring back. To me this sounds like a very bad idea.

[BlacJacMac]

More complicated than that. We cannot take salary back that exceeds his outgoing money. He has to opt out, then sign and trade, and I don’t believe we are allowed to take a player back, but I am not sure about sign and trade rules for 2nd apron teams or to prevent hardcap at the 2nd apron.

Or we trade him before the deadline.

You break up the most effective floor unit we have, promote Randle to even more prominence, lose key size, and only have $13,986,432 to bring back. To me this sounds like a very bad idea.

Depends on who comes back. Its possible Randle gets moved as well...

[winforlose]

Or we trade him before the deadline.

You break up the most effective floor unit we have, promote Randle to even more prominence, lose key size, and only have $13,986,432 to bring back. To me this sounds like a very bad idea.

Depends on who comes back. Its possible Randle gets moved as well...

I don’t see a lot of good returns on Naz at that price point. Unless you have some suggestions.

[BlacJacMac]

You break up the most effective floor unit we have, promote Randle to even more prominence, lose key size, and only have $13,986,432 to bring back. To me this sounds like a very bad idea.

Depends on who comes back. Its possible Randle gets moved as well...

I don’t see a lot of good returns on Naz at that price point. Unless you have some suggestions.

I'm just not ruling anything out. Ant is the only player I'm not actively listening to offers for (not counting guys we can't trade, like Rudy).

[winforlose]

I am bad with NBA contract rules. My questions are as follows:

1. Can we extend Naz immediately if he opts in?
1A. If we can extend Naz, how much are we allowed to pay him in the extension?

2. If Naz opts out, can we give him a 2 for 40 and a player option in the 2nd year? I ask because this might be a kick the can on the pay raise to help the Wolves keep NAW and wait out the Randle trade/expiration.
2B. If we get Naz to agree to the 2-40 can we promise him extra compensation on his next deal to make up for the short term compromise (or is this Joe Smith territory?)

3. If Naz does opt out and refuses to help with a 2 year deal, what do we think Naz is worth next year?

[ILC]

I have seen this a lot on twitter so thought I'd ask here - what is with the notion that a key requirement to bringing Naz back this summer, in addition to a pay rise ofc, is that he has to/wants to start next year?

Did Naz ever say that? Did anyone reliable report that? Is it not possible to just give him his pay rise and continue playing him in the role he is flourishing in right now?

[Klomp]

I have seen this a lot on twitter so thought I'd ask here - what is with the notion that a key requirement to bringing Naz back this summer, in addition to a pay rise ofc, is that he has to/wants to start next year?

Did Naz ever say that? Did anyone reliable report that? Is it not possible to just give him his pay rise and continue playing him in the role he is flourishing right now?

I tend to agree. While obviously everyone probably wants to move up the ranks in their job, I also think he understands how good he has it here and the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

[Klomp]

I think there's a possibility regarding Naz Reid that has not been discussed much. I think the player option throws it off, because people think that's the only thing built into the contract.

Naz is extension eligible in the summer. I wonder if he would consider opting in for his last year and then extending.

Just as an example, let's look at numbers....
Naz Reid: $15,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000

Another team would have to offer at least $27M to match that.....actually, since I don't think other teams can offer 5-year deals (correct me if I'm wrong), that would be equal to a $33,750,000 AAV for another team. Remember, Isaiah Hartenstein got $29M AAV last summer, so I don't think this is out of line.

By pushing out the new money, it allows the Wolves a chance to get out of the Randle money. Conley will be off the books by then as well.

[minimus]

I told ya! there is no reason why Naz cant be a good passer as five-out big. This year he averages career-high 1.9 apg. In last three games 4.3 assist per game.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

P.S. Clark cutting game is soooooo good

[winforlose]

I think there's a possibility regarding Naz Reid that has not been discussed much. I think the player option throws it off, because people think that's the only thing built into the contract.

Naz is extension eligible in the summer. I wonder if he would consider opting in for his last year and then extending.

Just as an example, let's look at numbers....
Naz Reid: $15,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000

Another team would have to offer at least $27M to match that.....actually, since I don't think other teams can offer 5-year deals (correct me if I'm wrong), that would be equal to a $33,750,000 AAV for another team. Remember, Isaiah Hartenstein got $29M AAV last summer, so I don't think this is out of line.

By pushing out the new money, it allows the Wolves a chance to get out of the Randle money. Conley will be off the books by then as well.

I have been discussing it for weeks. Of course I was talking about it assuming we couldn’t extend at that price point. I don’t know that we can double his current earnings in an extension, but that is more Shrink’s territory. Having Naz give us that cheap year with the promise of making it up to him on his next deal is the most logical approach if Naz wants to stay. How we handle Randle will play a big role in that.

[Klomp]

Read on Twitter

[shrink]

Watch on YouTube

[BlacJacMac]

Naz Reid has started the last five games in place of the injured Julius Randle, and the Wolves have been at their best (plus 17.2 points per 100 possessions) with Reid on the floor over that stretch. They’ve now allowed just 102.9 per 100 in 698 total minutes with Reid and Rudy Gobert on the floor together.

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2024-25-week-17

[shrink]

Naz Reid has started the last five games in place of the injured Julius Randle, and the Wolves have been at their best (plus 17.2 points per 100 possessions) with Reid on the floor over that stretch. They’ve now allowed just 102.9 per 100 in 698 total minutes with Reid and Rudy Gobert on the floor together.

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2024-25-week-17

Naz Reid has always surprised me over the years, but one of my biggest surprises was how good he played defense last year with Rudy, after being horrible at it the year before. I still don’t think he’s a good defender without Rudy, and his numbers with Randle were spectacularly bad at the beginning of the season, but the Rudy-Naz combo has been strong defensively long enough to say it is real, and not a mirage.

[Domejandro]

I think there's a possibility regarding Naz Reid that has not been discussed much. I think the player option throws it off, because people think that's the only thing built into the contract.

Naz is extension eligible in the summer. I wonder if he would consider opting in for his last year and then extending.

Just as an example, let's look at numbers....
Naz Reid: $15,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000

Another team would have to offer at least $27M to match that.....actually, since I don't think other teams can offer 5-year deals (correct me if I'm wrong), that would be equal to a $33,750,000 AAV for another team. Remember, Isaiah Hartenstein got $29M AAV last summer, so I don't think this is out of line.

By pushing out the new money, it allows the Wolves a chance to get out of the Randle money. Conley will be off the books by then as well.

I have been discussing it for weeks. Of course I was talking about it assuming we couldn’t extend at that price point. I don’t know that we can double his current earnings in an extension, but that is more Shrink’s territory. Having Naz give us that cheap year with the promise of making it up to him on his next deal is the most logical approach if Naz wants to stay. How we handle Randle will play a big role in that.

I asked Scoot over on the Trade Board, but barring me misunderstanding the CBA rules, extensions are limited to 140%, meaning that if Naz Reid picked up his Player-Option, the first year of his extension would be limited to $21,031,449.60. Following years would be subject to maximum 8% increases.

The extension would be $94,770,067.42 / 4 years
...or functionally $109,792,531.42 / 5 years ($21,958,506.28 per season)

Would Naz Reid accept $110 million over the next five years to stay in Minnesota? Next off-season is a bit funky with the amount of cap-space teams have (currently, only the Brooklyn Nets are projected to be operating with more than $25 million in cap-space), so maybe it is possible?

[winforlose]

I think there's a possibility regarding Naz Reid that has not been discussed much. I think the player option throws it off, because people think that's the only thing built into the contract.

Naz is extension eligible in the summer. I wonder if he would consider opting in for his last year and then extending.

Just as an example, let's look at numbers....
Naz Reid: $15,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000 / $30,000,000

Another team would have to offer at least $27M to match that.....actually, since I don't think other teams can offer 5-year deals (correct me if I'm wrong), that would be equal to a $33,750,000 AAV for another team. Remember, Isaiah Hartenstein got $29M AAV last summer, so I don't think this is out of line.

By pushing out the new money, it allows the Wolves a chance to get out of the Randle money. Conley will be off the books by then as well.

I have been discussing it for weeks. Of course I was talking about it assuming we couldn’t extend at that price point. I don’t know that we can double his current earnings in an extension, but that is more Shrink’s territory. Having Naz give us that cheap year with the promise of making it up to him on his next deal is the most logical approach if Naz wants to stay. How we handle Randle will play a big role in that.

I asked Scoot over on the Trade Board, but barring me misunderstanding the CBA rules, extensions are limited to 140%, meaning that if Naz Reid picked up his Player-Option, the first year of his extension would be limited to $21,031,449.60. Following years would be subject to maximum 8% increases.

The extension would be $94,770,067.42 / 4 years
...or functionally $109,792,531.42 / 5 years ($21,958,506.28 per season)

Would Naz Reid accept $110 million over the next five years to stay in Minnesota? Next off-season is a bit funky with the amount of cap-space teams have (currently, only the Brooklyn Nets are projected to be operating with more than $25 million in cap-space), so maybe it is possible?

Another way to do it is a 2 year contract with a player option. The first year is whatever you can afford to pay him without consequences to team building. The 2nd year is a player option and functions as injury insurance for Naz. If he stays healthy he opts out and signs the bigger deal for 4 years. If Naz wants to help the team and is willing to trust that he will get his money on the 2nd deal this is how he can do both.

[Domejandro]

I have been discussing it for weeks. Of course I was talking about it assuming we couldn’t extend at that price point. I don’t know that we can double his current earnings in an extension, but that is more Shrink’s territory. Having Naz give us that cheap year with the promise of making it up to him on his next deal is the most logical approach if Naz wants to stay. How we handle Randle will play a big role in that.

I asked Scoot over on the Trade Board, but barring me misunderstanding the CBA rules, extensions are limited to 140%, meaning that if Naz Reid picked up his Player-Option, the first year of his extension would be limited to $21,031,449.60. Following years would be subject to maximum 8% increases.

The extension would be $94,770,067.42 / 4 years
...or functionally $109,792,531.42 / 5 years ($21,958,506.28 per season)

Would Naz Reid accept $110 million over the next five years to stay in Minnesota? Next off-season is a bit funky with the amount of cap-space teams have (currently, only the Brooklyn Nets are projected to be operating with more than $25 million in cap-space), so maybe it is possible?

Another way to do it is a 2 year contract with a player option. The first year is whatever you can afford to pay him without consequences to team building. The 2nd year is a player option and functions as injury insurance for Naz. If he stays healthy he opts out and signs the bigger deal for 4 years. If Naz wants to help the team and is willing to trust that he will get his money on the 2nd deal this is how he can do both.

While it is possible, I don't know if it is worthwhile for Naz Reid to do that (also ignoring the Joe Smith consideration). When we get into nine-figure territory on contracts, it is a bit hard to see a player like Naz Reid take that kind of risk. I am also unsure how much Minnesota could realistically save if Naz Reid was willing to do that. Is it worth doing a $50MM/2 deal, instead of just signing him to a full-length contract (ex: $120MM/4)? Possibly, but I don't think that Naz is going to leave almost a hundred million dollars on the table, if he can get it.

Definitely worth consideration, but I would expect it to be between the extension (should the free-agency environment + him wanting to stay in Minnesota enable it) or Naz getting a full contract.

Another wrinkle is that the extension route would make it so Naz couldn't be traded for an entire year, so that could be attractive!