Today’s roundup covers the latest take on the most recent ownership-related news, plus a look at just how solid of a value Naz Reid’s contract is for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Even with weeks until the excitement of the NBA Draft and then free agency, there is still plenty going on around the Wolves.
Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: The latest Wolves ownership news
Late last week, we discovered that current owner Glen Taylor won his court battle with minority owner Meyer Orbach. That means that the pending sale to the incoming group led by former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez and tech billionaire Marc Lore can continue as planned.
Now, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski chimes in with some thoughts on the news (subscription required), namely that the new duo will be more likely to come out publicly and comment on the pending deal now that there aren’t legal challenges hanging over the process.
He also includes a few more notes from the judge’s ruling. If you have a subscription to The Athletic be sure to check it out.
Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: The value of Naz Reid
It’s no secret that the Wolves have a steal in Naz Reid. The undrafted big man signed a four-year, partially-guaranteed deal two summers ago, looking for the kind of security that very few non-first-round picks are able to land.
He found it, and the Wolves appear to have a genuine bargain in a talented backup big man with legitimate upside on both ends of the floor.
Reid Roelofs at The Lead wrote about Reid’s value, focusing on the impact he could have when given more of an opportunity.
The portion of the article that focuses on the need for Chris Finch to continue playing Reid alongside Karl-Anthony Towns — something that former head coach Ryan Saunders did not do with any frequency — is spot-on. Finch showed the desire to do so, and the dual-big frontcourt largely worked for the Wolves at the end of the season.
But in general, Reid appeared to be slightly overextended when slotted into the starting lineup to fill in for an injured Towns, both in his rookie year and in 2021. He can’t quite shoulder the load of Towns on either end of the floor, but he attempts to play in a similar fashion and it doesn’t always work out.
In a bench role that sees him playing backup minutes at the 5 to spell Towns and another 10 to 15 minutes per game alongside him at the 4, however, Reid could genuinely excel over the final two years of his contract.
If that’s indeed the role that Finch has set aside for Reid moving forward, he’ll be an absolute steal across the next two seasons