Naz Reid on future: I would love to stay in Minnesota, but it's a business

This offseason, Timberwolves center and impending free agent Naz Reid said he has been getting “closer and closer” with teammates Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, who, more than anyone else, are giving him the hard sell on staying with the team once the frenzy of free agency begins July 1. They have plans in the next several weeks, and it might be just a bit awkward if Reid isn’t with the Wolves any longer. “Leaving them would be a little heartbreaking, but they understand as well,” Reid told the Star Tribune in a Zoom interview Thursday. “Obviously we’re trying to push the opposite way to stay together. They’ve tried. I’m hanging out with them all the time. We’re getting closer and closer, so it would be hard for me to leave those guys.” -via Minneapolis Star-Tribune / June 15, 2023

He was playing some of the best basketball of his career in the eight games before the injury, and this was when Towns and Gobert were both playing. He averaged 18.1 points in 21.7 minutes per game. This is the kind of role the Wolves are trying to sell Reid on moving forward — that he can co-exist playing major minutes even with Towns and Gobert still on the roster. “I wouldn’t mind it,” Reid said of that role. “Whatever we can do for me to be back in Minnesota would be lovely, but I also feel like I’ve grown to a higher role or situation than I was in, in the beginning of the year. -via Minneapolis Star-Tribune / June 15, 2023

As for the money, Reid is set to make in the low to mid tens of millions, and is likely a popular candidate to receive a team’s full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which will come in around $10.5 to 11 million. The Wolves have to be mindful of their luxury tax situation, so there could be a point Reid becomes too expensive for them, should another team desire him at those numbers. But not many teams are equipped to offer Reid more than the mid-level. -via Minneapolis Star-Tribune / June 15, 2023