Will Timberwolves negotiate extension with Naz Reid soon?

Per The Athletics Senior NBA correspondent Shams Charania writes in a recent article (subscription required), the Minnesota Timberwolves began talks on the topic of extending backup center, Naz Reid. While expected, the early timing suggests that the Timberwolves are satisfied that Reid will be a strong contributor this season, and is very interested in locking him up for the foreseeable future.

Despite appearing in 15 games, and averaging just 12.9 minutes, Reid is averaging 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.3 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 0.6 assists per game. His 16.43 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is the fifth-highest on the Timberwolves roster, which is a solid starting point for a player’s agent to initiate negotiations with the team.

Naz Reid has been that guy who comes in off the bench to help spark the team on both sides of the basketball court.

How good has Reid been? Well, he is a team player, a selfless NBA athlete who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. And that ultimately shows up in the way a player meshes with his teammates.

So when will the Timberwolves and player representative ink a deal? Well, the maximum deal that the Minnesota Timberwolves could offer Naz Reid is 120 percent of this season’s estimated average salary.  At $10.8 million, the annual amount is just under $13 million. So a four-year deal with escalators would be in the ballpark of $58 million.

Right now, nobody projects his final agreed contract to approach that value. Recently signed Taurean Prince agreed to a two-year deal worth $14,555,000, and that has a solid feel for the type of contract extension that the Timberwolves would likely offer Naz Reid.

When might that take place? Negotiations can take long periods of time or can heat up suddenly and be resolved rather quickly. Right now, the Timberwolves remain uncertain over this current roster’s chemistry, and who is currently on the team who fits the overarching scheme of things.