The Timberwolves and Naz Reid are in agreement on a new contract, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports that the reserve forward/center intends to sign a five-year, $125MM contract to remain in Minnesota.
Reid held a player option worth approximately $15MM for the 2025/26 season, but will turn down that option in advance of Sunday’s deadline in order to finalize his new deal with the Wolves in July. According to Charania, the new contract will also feature a player option on the final year.
After winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2023/24, Reid had another strong showing for the Timberwolves in ’24/25, matching or exceeding his stats from the previous season in several key categories. The 25-year-old averaged 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 27.5 minutes per game across 80 outings (17 starts).
Reid has knocked down 39.5% of 5.4 three-point attempts per game over the past two seasons, making him a valuable floor-spacer in Minnesota’s frontcourt alongside center Rudy Gobert. Lineups featuring Reid and Gobert outscored opponents by 11.8 points per 100 possessions last season, the best mark of any of the team’s 25 most frequently used duos.
According to Charania, there was a “vibrant market developing” in free agency for Reid, with teams prepared to offer similar money and potentially a starting role. While Brooklyn is the only club currently projected to have enough cap room to have offered Reid a starting salary in the range of $20-25MM, there are other clubs that probably had the ability to get there.
The Pistons, for instance, were known to be interested in adding a stretch big man, and were cited as a team with interest in Reid. Detroit has the ability to create roughly $17MM in cap room and could have attempted to move off one more contract to create additional spending flexibility.
But the Timberwolves spoke both publicly and privately since their season ended about their desire to retain Reid, and showed with their five-year offer that they were serious about holding off rival suitors.
The next orders of business for the Wolves will be figuring out what happens with starting power forward Julius Randle and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Randle holds a $30.9MM player option that he must decide on by Sunday, while Alexander-Walker will be an unrestricted free agent.
Although Minnesota has expressed a desire to keep all three players, retaining both Randle and Alexander-Walker would almost certainly push team salary well over the second tax apron for a second straight year, as cap expert Yossi Gozlan outlines (via Twitter). That may not appeal to the front office (or team ownership).
There has been some skepticism about the Wolves’ ability to keep all three players, with Alexander-Walker viewed as the most likely odd man out. Accounting for Randle’s option and no new deal for Alexander-Walker, the Wolves currently project to operate just below the second apron, tweets ESPN Bobby Marks.
Good move. I always liked his game coming out of college. This will be a deal that ages well as the years go by based on AAV/Production.
Game like his will age just fine. He’s spending fairly equal time inside and outside the paint. Not asked to be a 15 rebound guy. Doesn’t have to bang and his spacing will keep him fresh I believe
Love Naz but he was not very good in the playoffs to be honest.
Think Minny kinda has to do this and not because they want to. If you let him walk for nothing they you lose an asset of good value for nothing, need to find a replacement for cheap and probably become a worse off side for it.
This team already lacks trade chips and the contracts they have aren’t great for salary matching so keeping him and eating the tax bill might be necessary for them in order to make a move and be better in the long run
They will regret that deal. His defense is not that good. Best you can say its average. He can shoot from the outside. It must mean Randle is gone. if not they are way over the 2nd cap and will not be able to make any moves unless they get rid of payroll.
Simply not true. Even with this deal we are still under the 2nd apron.
If randle takes his $30 million they will be at about $2 million under with only 13 players under contract with no 2-way players. That is without walker and ingles. So they better hope Randle opts out and leaves.
Reid salary rises from $15 mm to $21 mm 2025-26 season
They have 14 under contract (Beringer’s money already accounted for). They’ll have to let NAW walk, but that was always the most likely scenario. And I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure two-way contracts do not count against the cap. Zikarsky will be on a two-way.
Step 1 is to figure out the contract amounts and Cap Hit amounts are different.
Step 2 is to get rid of team option guys like Luka.
Example”
If Westbrook re-sign with Nuggets
contract amount is $5.7 mm
Cap Hit amount is $2.2 mm
They have over 30 million to resign Randle before 2nd apron
My calculation
If Randle opt out
Team payroll = $164 mm
Second apron $208 mm
They are under by 1.2 M in my calculations ( with Randle) with 14 players which is cool to role with
Bigger Q is how do they improve their G situation with seemingly no assets/wiggle room
13 players. Ingles and Walker out
> Bigger Q is how do they improve their G situation
> with seemingly no assets/wiggle room
Indeed. Especially defensively.. Without NAW, the disastrous series against OKC would have been considerably worse. Connelly has lost a step. Devincenzo and Dillingham don’t match up well defensively…
Naz Reid
Looks like they took on 6 M for this year.
NAW most likely gone for the full MLE 4/60 to a new team now
Sign and trade to hawks hopefully so we can at least get a 2nd rounder or something. They can absorb his contract without sending one back.
Trend: free agents signed by their own team are getting significantly less than expected… all about $5M-$10M under
1) Kyrie Irving: $40M
2) Fred VanVleet: $25M
3) Naz Reid: $25M
Naz is overpaid. No sixth man is worth that.
I still think Randle will be moved. He has a great contract. And probably can resign for not much more.
Minny had a solid draft. Randle and Conley are two expiring contracts too. I see a move coming.