The Naz Reid Thread

[winforlose]

I think that if Graham and Reid are on the roster that makes 15. Here is my list in descending order or importance to the team.

1 KAT
2 RoCo
3 Culver
4 Teague
5 Wiggins
6 Okogie
7 Dieng
8 Vonleh
9 Napier
10 Layman
11 Bell
12 KBD
13 Wallace
14 Reid
15 Graham

Seems like Nowell is odd man looking in.

I think Nowell could be one of the steals of the draft. I would put Wallace, and Graham easily below him on the totem pole. I might even put him above Bell and KBD.

I'm going out on a limb but I think he beats out Okogie for a job. He will be a far better player for our style of play.

Nothing wrong with being excited about Nowell, but what has he done to earn your favor?

His Iowa stats earned my favor. The key is to get him going with the Timberwolves instead of the Iowa Wolves.

[brutalitops]

Fouls way too much and doesn't have a soft touch

That's all his negatives. He has fantastic footwork. Great defense and has excellent hustle.

Absolutely keep him around. Been such a handy pick up

[minimus]

Fouls way too much and doesn't have a soft touch

That's all his negatives. He has fantastic footwork. Great defense and has excellent hustle.

Absolutely keep him around. Been such a handy pick up

He has a soft touch, once he improves lower body/core body strength he will be able to post up more effectively. He also passes the ball well. 20yo.

[brutalitops]

Fouls way too much and doesn't have a soft touch

That's all his negatives. He has fantastic footwork. Great defense and has excellent hustle.

Absolutely keep him around. Been such a handy pick up

He has a soft touch, once he improves lower body/core body strength he will be able to post up more effectively. He also passes the ball well. 20yo.

I'm super happy with him. Some flaws he needs to fix on to be a decent back up Big long term, but for an undrafted pick up and so young. Absolute jackpot

[minimus]

Recently, I have been re-watching MIN games. When I was watching the game vs BOS on Feb.21, Naz Reid played aggressively in defense, walled up slashers, rotated well. He was not playing smartly in defense, bit on pump fakes, committed unnecessary fouls, he clearly hit the rookie wall in offense, but still made an impact against one of the best teams in NBA. then I watched some Bam Adebayo highlights, granted Bam is a better athlete, better defender, but he has also two full seasons of work and preparation in one of the best NBA development programs in MIA.

Bam's physical profile is: 6′ 9.75” in shoes, 7′ 2.75′ wingspan, 242.6 lbs.
Reid's profile: 6’9.5 in shoes, 7’3.25 wingspan, 256 lbs.

Some things I found interesting:

1) Bam Adebayo was athletically prepared for NBA. Naz Reid was not. He is weak (put up three reps on the bench at the Combine), slow and overweight (with 14% body fat at the Combine). How much Naz can improve when he gets stronger, quicker, with improved stamina? Lets say added core strength, slimmed down from 256 lbs to 235 lbs.

2) Naz already has advanced footwork, he uses eurosteps, side steps to score, can pivot, spin in the paint. Scoring should not be an issue once he can stay on the floor without fouling. He was shooting well in gleague, and I believe that his shooting struggles in NBA are related to his stamina issues. We already know that he can pass the ball very well.

3) With regard to defense, BR article suggested that he has the potential to become a strong defender:

Reid's steal rate (2.2 percent) and block rate (4.8 percent) were both encouraging and would be signs of a strong defender at the NBA level.

However, his low rebounding numbers are concerning. I don't know whether it can be easily fixed. But as bigman in smallball lineup he must improve his rebounding.

4) Having two offensive-minded bigs with similar skillset should be beneficial for developing offensive identity, they can run the same sets/plays all game long. It also reduces the pressure of having good shooters at other positions. Mostly at PF/SF, if KAT-Beasley-DLo trio can elevate team offense. For instance, KAT/Reid combo at C makes more realistic opportunity of Vanderbilt type of player starting at PF: a versatile defender, passer, slasher, high energy player with limited offense.

https://dunkingwithwolves.com/2020/05/03/minnesota-timberwolves-grading-naz-reids-2019-20-season/

[Klomp]

I was going to bump this thread with a tweet I saw, but was stopped in my tracks when I read this in the last post made almost 9 months ago.

Bam's physical profile is: 6′ 9.75” in shoes, 7′ 2.75′ wingspan, 242.6 lbs.
Reid's profile: 6’9.5 in shoes, 7’3.25 wingspan, 256 lbs.

The tweet?

Read on Twitter

[Klomp]

Read on Twitter

[Klomp]

This guy deserves a thread bump. He's been playing so well this preseason, as good as anyone on the team!

[Klomp]

He's making me strongly consider the idea of running a three-man big rotation.

Start Reid and Towns
Sub Vanderbilt for Reid
Sub Reid for Towns
Sub Towns for Vanderbilt

[Domejandro]

I think there is value in having him be the first big off of the bench (protects Minnesota when Towns racks up two immediate fouls), but I think he will finish a lot of games with Towns.

[Muskies97]

If he requires a roster spot and Graham is guaranteed requiring a roster spot does this relegate Nowell to the G League with no roster spot?

I’m certainly no expert - and will graciously defer those that are more knowledgeable (not a high bar) - but Nowell would likely be signed to a deal that costs a roster spot. Any player assigned to Iowa will just be listed as inactive.

I think that if Graham and Reid are on the roster that makes 15. Here is my list in descending order or importance to the team.

1 KAT
2 RoCo
3 Culver
4 Teague
5 Wiggins
6 Okogie
7 Dieng
8 Vonleh
9 Napier
10 Layman
11 Bell
12 KBD
13 Wallace
14 Reid
15 Graham

Seems like Nowell is odd man looking in.

It is still crazy that this garbage was our roster just two seasons ago.

[Klomp]

It is still crazy that this garbage was our roster just two seasons ago.

Just goes to show how much cleaning up had to be done by Rosas. Yes, some of it was his own doing (could've just re-signed Rose, Gibson), but in the long run I think the route went was the smart way to go.

It's not only just the 6-15 that was garbage. But arguably the more important garbage to address was 2-5. That had to be fixed, and it seems to have been (or at least we're on the right path).

[Klomp]

Word around the player-led, informal workouts the Wolves have been conducting at Mayo Clinic Square over the last few weeks is that Reid looks terrific. He spent a lot of time in Minneapolis this summer working on his game, trying to find a way to wedge himself into the rotation.

https://theathletic.com/3466122/2022/09/20/timberwolves-depth-chart-breakdown/

[NebWolvesFan]

Word around the player-led, informal workouts the Wolves have been conducting at Mayo Clinic Square over the last few weeks is that Reid looks terrific. He spent a lot of time in Minneapolis this summer working on his game, trying to find a way to wedge himself into the rotation.

https://theathletic.com/3466122/2022/09/20/timberwolves-depth-chart-breakdown/

If he's looked so great, why has there been crickets on a Reid extension. It looks like he's going to play out the season as a deep reserve and then sign with another team - similar to Okogie.

I really hope the Wolves can get some value for Reid in trade.

[BlacJacMac]

Word around the player-led, informal workouts the Wolves have been conducting at Mayo Clinic Square over the last few weeks is that Reid looks terrific. He spent a lot of time in Minneapolis this summer working on his game, trying to find a way to wedge himself into the rotation.

https://theathletic.com/3466122/2022/09/20/timberwolves-depth-chart-breakdown/

If he's looked so great, why has there been crickets on a Reid extension. It looks like he's going to play out the season as a deep reserve and then sign with another team - similar to Okogie.

I really hope the Wolves can get some value for Reid in trade.

Everybody "looks great" heading into the season. Every player has either gained 10 pounds of muscle or lost 20 pounds of fat. They've all shot 10,000 3s every day of the summer with a shooting coach...

[minimus]

Kudos to Naz Reid for leading smallball unit that stopped our bleeding. His two blocks were needed.

[winforlose]

Finch said after game 3 that Naz priority in the rotation will not increase. There is no doubt he has been valuable, but I fear for both his long term locker room presence (did you guys see his face on opening night. He looked like someone who just found out his future earnings are being sabotaged,) and his ability to stay ready when the absence is more than a game. I know early season trades are rare. But should moving Naz become a priority once Kyle is healthy? Do we trust Luka to play similar minutes with a similar unit? Do we sign a Whiteside to bridge the gap (vet minimum is about the same money.) Finally, what do we trade for? Do we need more PG power (someone who does the things JMAC does but is better defensively,) more SF depth (especially if Prince is gonna continue to be played alongside MCD,) or more PF depth? I see Naz return value depreciating over the course of the season with lack of use.

[KGdaBom]

Finch said after game 3 that Naz priority in the rotation will not increase. There is no doubt he has been valuable, but I fear for both his long term locker room presence (did you guys see his face on opening night. He looked like someone who just found out his future earnings are being sabotaged,) and his ability to stay ready when the absence is more than a game. I know early season trades are rare. But should moving Naz become a priority once Kyle is healthy? Do we trust Luka to play similar minutes with a similar unit? Do we sign a Whiteside to bridge the gap (vet minimum is about the same money.) Finally, what do we trade for? Do we need more PG power (someone who does the things JMAC does but is better defensively,) more SF depth (especially if Prince is gonna continue to be played alongside MCD,) or more PF depth? I see Naz return value depreciating over the course of the season with lack of use.

Naz is looking great so keeping him should be a priority.

[KGdaBom]

Naz extension in the works per the Athletic.

The Wolves have begun contract extension talks with Naz Reid, according to Shams Charania.
Reid has barely been in the rotation this season, since the Wolves are staggering Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, though he did pour in 14 points during the fourth quarter on Sunday. Afterward, he talked to reporters about his uncertain role. "It gets tough but it’s all part of the process," he said. "At the end of the day, everybody on the team believes in me and that’s the biggest thing, that they all support me." It sounds like he's amenable to re-upping in Minnesota.

RELATED: Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns
SOURCE: The Athletic
Oct 24, 2022, 10:35 AM ET

[winforlose]

Naz extension in the works per the Athletic.

The Wolves have begun contract extension talks with Naz Reid, according to Shams Charania.
Reid has barely been in the rotation this season, since the Wolves are staggering Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, though he did pour in 14 points during the fourth quarter on Sunday. Afterward, he talked to reporters about his uncertain role. "It gets tough but it’s all part of the process," he said. "At the end of the day, everybody on the team believes in me and that’s the biggest thing, that they all support me." It sounds like he's amenable to re-upping in Minnesota.

RELATED: Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns
SOURCE: The Athletic
Oct 24, 2022, 10:35 AM ET

Saw that. I also saw his face on opening night. I also heard Finch say he has no plans to add Naz to the rotation. In fact it is quite the opposite. He will only play if people are out, and then only spot minutes. Finch planned to (paraphrasing here) “steal a few minutes” in the fourth. He was absolutely going to bench Naz for KAT and Rudy in the fourth. 5 minutes a game if that is not enough for Naz. My guess is the extension will be to help with a trade around the deadline.