shrink wrote:Ok, don’t shoot the messenger, but would you trade Naz Reid for the #5 pick?
There are a lot of personal reasons that a Naz trade is unlikely. I wrote a post for the T&T board about it:shrink wrote:Okay Mamba - you’re on my list. Picture me as Steve Buscimi in Billy Madison.
Ok, seriously, the GM in me completely understands this. Thirteen months from now, MIN likely can’t afford to pay Naz what he deserves when he opts out, and his trade value on this year of low salary, to a team that CAN afford to keep him with Bird rights. He also isn’t a starter on the Wolves, and could be worth more to another team. This makes him a textbook trade candidate.
That said, I’ve been here long enough to learn these types of decisions aren’t 100% based on CBA math, and Naz is a perfect case for this. In fact, he is only on MIN now because Glen Taylor made an uncharacteristic intervention to get Connelly to raise his offer to keep him, and Naz Reid took less because he wanted to stay in MIN. This may have been the first time in franchise history a player took less to stay HERE, but he liked his teammates, and he wanted to repay MIN for taking a chance on him as a pudgy undrafted free agent. He is likely the second most popular player on the current team with fans, because his work ethic and competitiveness resonates with Minnesota values. A Naz Reid beach towel is a badge of honor.
I’d also point out that he is a big part of MIN’s advantage over other teams. The Wolves pound opponents’ bigs, challenging their size and picking up fouls. With Reid as sixth man, teams need 96 minutes of quality big man defense, which few teams can afford.
As a GM, I think a Naz trade makes lots of sense. But the NBA is entertainment, and the fans love Naz. I’m curious what offers this thread will draw, but I think the likely outcome is he plays one more year with the Wolves, and then, for the first time in his career, he gets paid what he’s worth as a free agent on another team.
But I wonder if the #5 would appeal to Tim Connelly? The deal has extra value to MIN because the pick has 4 years of team control, the lower price tag probably lets MIN stay under the second apron, and Connelly’s greatest GM strength is his ability to scout young talent. I’m no scout, so I can’t say what the #5 pick would be, four years from now, but to me, that’s a lot of value. Maybe Connelly would think so too?
I think that’s why this offseason is so important. These decisions need to be made now. We can talk about next year being a year we’re all-in, but we cannot completely think that way. Our best player is 22, if we so lock ourselves in, with no hope to improve in 3-4 years as Rudy/KAT age (losing Naz/NAW next offseason), Ant will ask out before the end of his current deal. He will not want to spend his prime on a middling team.
Regarding NAZ, we need a plan. He’ll be an unrestricted FA after this season, probably demanding 25-30m/year with the rising cap. He’ll also probably want to start. Will Rudy reduce his number enough that we can afford Naz? Even if he did, does Naz want to spend his prime coming off the bench? My gut says no to each. So, do we want to lose Naz for nothing (and maybe NAW too), which is the likely outcome without some trades, which can maybe wait to the deadline, but more value would be gotten now.
As for the #5, this is a crappy draft but if Connelly sees Sheppard, Topic, or Dillingham as future top 15 PG in the league, I think he might be interested. I think Sheppard might actually be pretty ideal as a fit next to Ant.
That said, it’s still most likely we just run it back and reassess at the trade deadline. Second most likely being a KAT deal if someone offers great value. But we shall see.
