An undefeated Summer League is possible for the Wolves after they defeated the Nets 85-77 Saturday night to advance to the championship game.
Minnesota will face the Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m. Monday and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
Naz Reid, only a year or so removed from playing in the 2018 McDonald’s All-American high school showcase, led the Wolves with 20 points and six rebounds in just 19 minutes.
If you don’t know who Reid is, you might want to whip our your wallet and consider buying a ticket to get on the hype train, because it’s filling up fast.
https://twitter.com/Kyle_Ratke/status/1149098925061632000
According to the New Orleans Advocate, the former LSU star was long thought to be a first-round talent about a year ago, and at the very least a second-round pick leading up to the June NBA Draft.
Instead, he never heard his name called and wound up signing a two-way contract with the Wolves. Head coach Ryan Saunders raved about Reid when the Wolves showed up in Las Vegas for the Summer League earlier this month.
“We see that he’s got an incredible amount of talent,” Saunders said of Reid. “Every time I tell somebody he just turned 19 years old, they don’t believe me. His upside is tremendous, so we really love what he can bring to us.”
In Sunday’s victory, Reid went head-to-head with Brooklyn’s starting center, Jarrett Allen, and made him look silly multiple times, including this nasty move with his back to the basket.
What a move by #2WayPlayer @NazReid 👏@LSUBasketball ↗️ @iawolves ↔️ @Timberwolves #NBASummer pic.twitter.com/WQxMPMkR60
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) July 15, 2019
“It’s a great experience going against a guy like that,” Reid told Timberwolves.com’s Kyle Ratke. “He’s athletic and he can do things at the NBA level that a lot can’t do. But it was really fun to get a chance to go at him.”
Did we mention that Reid can shoot the 3, handle the ball and isn’t afraid to tell you about it?
“I can shoot the ball at my size, handle the ball at my size & score inside at will,” said Reid after signing with the Wolves, according to radio play-by-play guy Alan Horton.
That’s impressive for a 6’10” human, whose 7’4” wingspan helped him block three shots Sunday.
It’s way too early to start plotting ways the Wolves can mix Reid into the regular rotation, but the way he’s going you never know. That said, if he remains on a two-way contract, NBA rules won’t allow him to spend more than 45 days at the NBA level. The rest of his time will be developing with the Iowa Wolves in the G-league.
Regardless, the hype is warranted and Reid has a chance to be a major steal for the Wolves.
Naz Reid was by far the most shocking undrafted player to me.
— Jamal Murphy (@Blacketologist) July 15, 2019
Naz Reid is going to be a full-time NBA player before this season ends. That two-way contract won’t last.
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) July 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/timfaklis/status/1150573572156530689https://twitter.com/Kyle_Ratke/status/1148414409368170496
