Just one year after hoisting a trophy, one NBA player may be ready to hit the open market.
Veteran NBA writer Jake Fischer reported to Substack on Monday that Minnesota Timberwolves big man Naz Reid is expected to opt out of his contract this summer to test free agency. Fischer notes that Reid holds a $15 million player option for the 2025-26 season, which he now appears likely to decline.
The 25-year-old Reid, who stands 6-foot-9, was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year last season. He is known as one of the league’s preeminent three-point shooting bigs, shooting a blazing 41.0 percent from deep over the last two seasons combined.
This season, Reid has actually surpassed his numbers from his 6MOY-winning campaign, averaging 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game on 48/40/81 shooting splits. Reid has also had to play more minutes against starters (as opposed to playing primarily against second units last season), especially with first-string power forward Julius Randle having been sidelined throughout this entire month of February with a groin injury.
While it certainly seems like the right move on Reid’s part to seek a bigger payday in the wake of his superb play, the Timberwolves will definitely have a decision to make with him. Last summer’s trade of five-time NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns put Minnesota in a great financial position to be able to re-sign Reid. But the Timberwolves, who made the Western Conference Finals last year, now sit seventh in the West this year at a mediocre 31-27, leading to questions about just how far this non-Towns roster can go as currently constructed.
Minnesota has a bit of flexibility to work with here as Nickeil Alexander-Walker and other smaller contracts will come off the books in the offseason. With the recent news too that the Timberwolves’ new owners are inching closer to gaining full control of the team, an easy way to get the fans on their side right off the bat would be to pay up on a new deal for the local favorite Reid.
