Knee-jerk reactions can prove catastrophic in a world where patience often pays off, but is the best move for the Minnesota Timberwolves really running it back in 2023-24 with the same roster?
If they do, it’s a formidable starting five with Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. The bench would feature Kyle Anderson, Taurean Prince, Jordan McLaughlin, Wendell Moore. Josh Minott and the players they reach deals with in free agency.
Naz Reid is an unrestricted free agent. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a restricted free agent. Austin Rivers and Jaylen Nowell are also unrestricted, so they could be playing for different teams next season.
The most interesting offseason dynamic will be how the Wolves handle Towns and Reid. In April, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly suggested he’ll do everything possible to re-sign Reid.
“We’re fingers crossed that he’s going to be here for a long, long time,” Connelly said on April 27. “We’ve been working pretty hard to try to figure out something more long-term for Naz. Hopefully that thing gets done sooner rather than later.”
Reid had a breakout season and could easily find a job as a starter elsewhere, so why would he want to return to Minnesota and play 20 minutes a game as KAT’s backup? He probably isn’t interested in that role, so when Connelly says he wants Reid back it should fuel speculation that Towns could potentionally be traded.
In fact, Reid is the No. 1 reason why the Timberwolves should trade Towns. Think about it like this: If Reid and Towns were on different teams and faced each other, who puts up better numbers in equal minutes while guarding each other?
It’s too close to call, right?
Both are probably going for 20+ points and 10 rebounds. Neither is a great defender but Reid is a slightly better shot blocker, averaging 1.9 blocks per 36 minutes in his career compared to Towns’ career average of 1.4 blocks per 36 minutes.
Let’s compare the per-36 minutes stats of Reid’s breakout 2022-23 season with Towns’ All-Star 2021-22 season.
- Towns: 26.4 PPG, 10.6 REB, 3.9 AST, 52.9 FG%, 41..0 3P%, 1.2 BLK
- Reid: 22.5 PPG, 9.6 REB, 2.2 AST, 53.7 FG%, 34.6 3P%, 1.5 BLK
Those aren’t big differences considering Towns was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and Reid went undrafted. The big difference – that 100% cannot be ignored – is that Reid may be capable of giving the Wolves nearly identical production for way less money.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports reported in February that Reid was seeking around $10 million annually from the Timberwolves. Towns is set to make $50+ million each of the next three seasons.
Towns turns 28 in November. Reid turns 24 in August.
Younger, cheaper and just as impactful? In what world does keeping Towns and letting Reid walk make any sense? Remember, the Wolves could’ve traded Reid before last season’s NBA trade deadline and got something of value. Instead, they kept him and now risk losing him for nothing.
They don’t do that unless they know they’re bringing him back as an integral member of the long-term plan, right? Connect the dots, people. None of this makes sense unless the plan going forward is to have Naz Reid in the starting lineup in 2023-24 and beyond.
KAT to the Knicks? Celtics? A flood of rumors is likely to flow throughout June before the Timberwolves can officially trade Towns in July. But the fact that Reid is still here should speak volumes about Minnesota’s offseason plan.
Unless, of course, Connelly saying he wants to keep Reid in Minnesota for a “long, long time” is complete BS.
