Timberwolves free agent focus: Naz Reid

Why Timberwolves should re-sign

If this team committed its future around the veteran core of C Rudy Gobert, PF Karl-Anthony Towns, PG Mike Conley Jr, and veterans who fill niche and complementary roles on this roster, then any effort to re-sign Naz Reid would be superficial at best.  Reid offers the Minnesota Timberwolves a truly young and solid option for their center position.

But this is a team that knows that the future will rest in the hands of 21-year-old shooting guard Anthony Edwards, and small forward Jaden McDaniels. If the Minnesota Timberwolves can successfully re-sign Naz Reid, he becomes the third player of that young core that could eventually assume the dominant role of the team. If and or when that happens, then it would be Naz Reid who is the focus of the team and veterans like Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns who face a complementary role.

Get for KAT

Some fans are already committed to the young core and are urging the team to trade Karl-Anthony Towns for pennies on the dollar to free up the cash to re-sign Naz Reid this offseason. That is unlikely to happen. Why? Because no matter how fans view the chemistry of the Timberwolves roster, the only jobs that are on the line over how this team performs begin with Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly.

The team wants to reset the Timberwolves roster as closely as possible to that of the 2022-23 NBA season for good reason. With PG Mike Conley Jr. running the plays, and his long-established chemistry with center Rudy Gobert, he is confident that this team has another 6-10 wins for the taking. Factor in a healthy season for Karl-Anthony Towns, and suddenly this team has almost no reason to deviate from the plans laid a year ago.

Re-signing Naz Reid is not changing the direction of the Timberwolves at all. It’s about seeing the current strategy through to the end.