Timberwolves now have absurd amount of money committed to big men
Nov 9, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) dribbles the ball against the Phoenix Suns during the second quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Timberwolves are in an all-out rebellion against small-ball.
News broke on Sunday that the Timberwolves have signed reserve big man Naz Reid to a big contract extension, thereby keeping him out of free agency this summer. Reid is expected to continue backing up Minnesota’s supersize duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert next season.
Bleacher Report shared the updated numbers on just how much money the Timberwolves now have committed to those three bigs — a staggering $443 million. Gobert made $38 million from Minnesota last season and is still owed another $131.3 million through 2026. With Towns beginning a new four-year, $234.6 million supermax extension next season and Reid’s new contract joining the mix on top of that … well that is a whole lot of money tied up in just Minnesota’s frontcourt alone.
The Towns-Gobert duo already proved a bit wobbly last season. Towns is an elite offensive big but one who cannot do as much defensively, particularly when asked to stay in front of quicker 4s. Gobert is an elite defensive big but one who doesn’t offer much if anything outside of the paint. Reid’s energy and one-on-one scoring ability do help, but he is not seeing any meaningful minutes next to either big man (just 199 minutes in total alongside Gobert last season and a mere 85 alongide Towns).
Of course, things are a little bit skewed since Towns missed over half of the season with a calf injury before returning in late March. Thus, Minnesota is banking that a full year of everybody healthy nets them a better result than the 42-40 finish and first-round exit that they just had. But that gamble will be a costly one, especially since evidence suggest that these guys simply may not like each other very much.
