After Tim Connelly’s first season as Timberwolves president of basketball operations, he was high on Naz Reid. When Reid was a free agent two summers ago, Connelly signed him to his second contract, even though the franchise had Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert as its starting frontcourt.
Reid, for his part, was happy in Minnesota, content to be with the team that drafted and developed him, and happy to embrace the love of a fan base that made him a cult hero, even if potentially he turned down more playing time on other teams.
Two years later, Connelly, the Wolves and Reid haven’t changed their minds about each other, and Reid will now be a member of the team for at least the next four years. Reid is tearing up the player option he had for next season for around $15 million and will sign a five-year deal worth up to $125 million to stay in Minnesota, sources confirmed Friday night. The fifth year of the deal is a player option.
Reid, who was the Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24, is coming off a year in which he topped the numbers that earned him the honor. He averaged a career-high 14.2 points on 46% shooting and a career-high 6.0 rebounds while averaging 27.5 minutes per game.
Reid is the first of a few dominoes to fall in free agency for the Wolves, who are trying to stay under the second apron of the salary cap and the punitive roster-building restrictions that come with that.
Julius Randle still has a player option of around $31 million he must decide to take or decline, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a free agent. The value of Reid’s deal (around $25 million per season, but likely slightly less in the first year) means it will be difficult for the Wolves to retain Alexander-Walker if Randle opts in to his deal while staying under the second apron. Alexander-Walker is widely reported to be a target of multiple teams in free agency and could command around the full mid-level exception of $14 million. Essentially, Reid’s deal means the Wolves can likely retain either Randle or Alexander-Walker and stay below the second apron but not both. Connelly said staying under that $207.8 million threshold was the goal.
“We have some limitations financially. We want to make sure that we avoid that second apron,” Connelly said after the draft Thursday. “But we’re really excited about the direction of our team. We’re excited that the guys who are free all want to come back.”
Reid was also a potential target of other teams, but just like two years ago he is opting to stay in Minnesota even if it means he will come off the bench again behind Randle and Gobert.