Minnesota Timberwolves: Naz Reid can stick as a rotation player

Reid’s Rookie Season

Reid started the season with the Iowa Wolves of the G League, where he was expected to remain for quite some time. After all the, Wolves had Towns and Robert Covington in the starting lineup, backed up by veterans Gorgui Dieng, Noah Vonleh, and Jordan Bell.

The undrafted big man first appeared in a game on Dec. 8 at the Lakers, at the end of a blowout loss. He played again the next night in Phoenix in a similar situation. Then, he wouldn’t appear in another NBA game until Dec. 30, a few games after Towns injured his knee against the LA Clippers.

That began a string of games with Reid as a regular member of the rotation. He was solid when given a chance, averaging 10.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in just 15.6 minutes per game during the nine-game stretch when he played in at least eight minutes per game with Towns unavailable.

Then, Towns returned and Reid’s minutes diminished once again. After the trade deadline, however, Reid joined the rotation. Then, another Towns injury, which made Reid the starting center.

As a starter this season, Reid has averaged 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25.4 minutes per game. He’s struggled with his shot, however, putting up a line of just .405/.278/.656 (field goal, 3-point, and free throw percentages).

As a bench player, Reid has shot the ball much better: .418/.361/.762 on a much higher usage rate. He’s also scored 140 points in just 216 minutes, compared to as a starter, when he has only scored 129 points in 279 minutes.

Clearly, Reid’s aggressiveness and role in the offense shrunk when he joined a starting lineup with multiple mouths to feed — namely, D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley. Coming off the bench, Reid was more of a focal point of the offense. Often times, this was a Jordan McLaughlin-led pick-and-roll, allowing Reid to take on a Towns-like role with the second unit, reading coverages and getting himself shots at the rim or beyond the arc.

Reid hasn’t had the chance to play alongside Towns much — just 10 minutes so far — and while there’s some intrigue as what he may look like at the power forward spot, the Wolves’ desire to play small will probably keep us from seeing a Naz-KAT frontcourt all too often.

Let’s take a look at some video clips of Reid’s strengths and weaknesses so far in his NBA career.