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MINNEAPOLIS — Once the draft was over, there was no rest time for the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the opening of the market just around the corner, it is time to start the business with their top free agents.
In his third season at Minnesota, Nas Reed has emerged as a powerful weapon off the bench, a reliable starter when one of the team’s top men is out of maximum pay and a symbol of what the Timberwolves want him to be: a tireless worker and reach for new players. heights after joining their ranks. With contract talks picking up again after the draft, sources familiar with the process said athlete, The Timberwolves and Reid were still apart. Then a call came from the top of the organization.
“Get what you want,” owner Glenn Taylor commanded his front desk.
Taylor and his partners, Marc Lorre and Alex Rodriguez, didn’t want Reed to land in free agency, as many teams were waiting and could offer the 23-year-old more money or more playing time and a bigger role. The three consulted with President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly and Coach Chris Finch and came to the conclusion that they could not allow a player of his work ethic, skill level, and desire to remain in Minnesota to leave.
In the three years since signing as a rookie undrafted free agent, Reed has become one of the greatest player development stories in the organization. He came to Minnesota and he’s a big, overweight guy with a raw skill set and he’s got a foot injury. By the end of his third season, he was a scrawny, scrawny, dunking machine who lost 30 pounds to become a real problem for opposing the big men and a fan favorite on the home front.
Taylor and his wife, Becky, grew to be huge fans of Reed themselves, watching him grow before their eyes from a G League center into an important part of the Timberwolves’ rotation. Over the past two seasons since joining the ownership group, Lorre and Rodriguez have quickly come to respect what Reed means to their team and realize how important it is to keep him, even if it means paying a premium.
With the ownership group fully on board, Connelly reconnected with Reid and his representatives, Sean Kennedy and Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, for one last push to get a deal done. And on Sunday, the two sides reached a three-year, $42 million deal that includes a player option for the final season.
For Reid, it was a huge win for a back-up big man to land an important contract even with Townes and Joubert ahead of him. A player option gives him the ability to become a free agent in just two years, giving him another chance to land a big contract before he turns 26. This was clearly enough to allay any concerns about his role with Townes and Joubert on the list before him.
For the Timberwolves, it was a win because they got the services of a talented young player despite having other highly paid players in his position. Reed was just a few days away from hitting the free agent market as one of the most sought after big men. Teams like San Antonio and Sacramento had the money and playing time to burn, but Reed chose to sign and stay in Minnesota. This show of faith is saying something for a team trying to change a long-held view of where players are looking to avoid rather than stay for the long haul.
The deal was the culmination of talks between the Timberwolves and Reid that began last summer, almost immediately after Connelly was hired to take over the front office. In the early stages, it was hard to place value on Reed, who displayed an impressive work ethic and commitment to reshaping his body and improving his playing style over his first three seasons at Minnesota. But by July the Wolves had traded in for Goubert, giving them two salary cap spots on their list ahead of Reed, so how much could they play responsibly while putting in plenty of money and play time with Goubert and Towns?
Reid stayed in Minnesota for most of the summer to prepare for a pivotal season. When he showed up to fall training camp, it was clear from the start that he meant business. He showed an improved grip that allowed him to smash players from the perimeter and drive into the hole. He fired it from 3 on a higher volume and kept it accurate, a great effort on his part to prove he could share the pitch with Joubert. And his constant work on his body has resulted in the most athletically explosive version of Reid we’ve seen, his dunk punctuating camp workouts while Towns and Gobert watch over injuries.
“I had no idea ‘until I played here that it was that good,’” veteran Austin Rivers said early in the season. “But I knew in training camp, like after the first day. I called my dad (coach Doc Rivers), I called a whole bunch of people the entire season. I was like, ‘Yo, this dude is like a big time player, like the starting 5.'”
He had his best season, averaging career-highs in points (11.5), rebounds (4.9) and field goal percentage (. 537). In his 11 starts, those numbers jumped to 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. The Timberwolves were 7-4 in those games.
Reid put together some Monster Nights this season, including 26 points and eight rebounds in a win over Atlanta, 30 points, nine rebounds and five steals in a loss against Golden State, and 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in a win over the Warriors. and 27 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Dallas. But it wasn’t the stats that endeared him to fans. The way he stacked it was what made their blood flow.
He is one of the most vicious flops on the team.
Naz Red. On his head 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Bswn1rxwd9
– Minnesota Timberwolves March 28, 2023
He can go out and hit number 3 in the big moments.
A great shot in time. pic.twitter.com/n4ZE5cw5KT
– Minnesota Timberwolves March 28, 2023
He makes quick decisions to keep crime from stagnating, which is a recurring theme when he’s not in the game.
This spherical motion, too pic.twitter.com/TZI658492t
– Minnesota Timberwolves December 20, 2022
Oh that handle…
Let’s start oozing pic.twitter.com/5GXfc3Z4Vo
– Minnesota Timberwolves February 2, 2023
“I always thought Nas was so cute and then I end up teaming with him and I like him, it’s crazy. He’s definitely the truth,” Edwards said.
There is a different kind of energy when Reid enters a game. His smooth handle, banging at the edge and constant movement endeared him to teammates who played with him for three years or three weeks.
“I thought he was playing good against him but I didn’t know his bag, he has variety in his bag,” Mike Conley said shortly after coming from Utah on a trade. “He can just do so many different things. He’s like a sentinel in his position.”
All the work Reid did in his game was directed towards convincing the coaching staff that he could be more than just a small ball center. He wanted to prove he could play alongside Townes or Joubert, hold up in defense and be versatile enough to make the pair work. He was firmly in the middle of the Timberwolves’ best season — four straight wins in New York, against Atlanta and at Golden State and Sacramento — in March the team thought it was ready for the playoffs. He then broke his wrist and missed the final five games of the regular season and playoff games, and his teammates lamented his absence in the five-game loss to Denver.
The fanbase seems to like Reid more than his teammates. There is respect and admiration attributed to a story like Reed’s, and an appreciation for the work he’s done, starting with former coach Ryan Saunders and Iowa Wolves head coach Sam Newman-Peak and continuing with Finch and his assistant coaches and player development specialists. Kevin Hanson and Joe Boylan.
Even on a team with the more popular Edwards, Reid was the more popular wolf. Each featured play is met with a simple two-word response meant that no more needs to be said.
Naz Red.
Naz Red.
1️⃣1️⃣ » https://t.co/By6l8WOA2e pic.twitter.com/szDZk6V281
– Minnesota Timberwolves June 21, 2023
There are definitely things Reed needs to work on to make sure the Timberwolves are getting the most for their money. He needs to recover more steadily after only making four double-digit board games in 68 games last season. He needs to reduce his offense on defense, and he’s one of the many Timberwolves who can ease up on complaining to officials.
The average annual value of $14 million is likely to be slightly higher than what the Timberwolves initially wanted to pay, especially given the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert in the frontcourt ahead of Reid on the depth chart. Cities is one year away from starting a $254 million four-year contract extension. Joubert is entering the third year of his contract and will earn $41 million next season. All told, the Wolves will pay three big guys around $90 million next season.
With a new collective bargaining agreement, financial penalties and steeper team building penalties for teams that exceed the luxury tax, set to take effect in 2024-25 and expected lucrative extensions for Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, the Wolves’ pocket will be two. put to the test.
It is hard to imagine how the Wolves could keep Joubert, Townes and Reed, pay off Edwards and McDaniels and avoid being a routine participant in the luxury tax. The first impression is that one of the old men will eventually have to leave. Connelly and Finch have said all summer they’d rather have them back in the same vein, and that included Reid with Gobert and Towns, who missed 52 games last season with a calf injury. They want to see this group together in good health to determine how far you can go.
Whether it’s this summer, sometime before the February trade deadline during the season or next year leading up to the draft, it looks like the Wolves will make a decision. There is plenty of time to let things run their course and allow more information to present itself. Given how short Reed’s new deal is, he may finally be the one to get moved. Maybe it’s Gobert, maybe it’s Towns or maybe it’s going to swallow Wolves hard and pay the taxes for a few years if they think they can actually run into the playoffs.
It will all end in time. For now, the Wolves see this as a time to celebrate. The ownership, front office, and coaching staff can enjoy knowing that a player who was days away from free agency decided to pass up an opportunity at a big payday or a bigger role. Teammates who marvel at his skill set and mixtape know Reed will be there to help them through a grueling Western Conference. Fans who have been cheering him on can rest easy knowing the No. 11 will be back on Earth next season.
How do you sum up so much excitement in a more succinct way?
Naz Red.
(Naz Reid top photo: David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)