10 Impending NBA free agents who could earn a payday down the stretch
By Dalton Sell
6. Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves
It’s been somewhat of a rocky year for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They have dealt with a vast assortment of injuries all year, primarily to star center Karl-Anthony Towns. Yet, they remain in an incredibly tight playoff race in the Western Conference, currently sitting in seventh place. A major contributor to the team’s success this season has been big man Naz Reid.
Reid has played well with the Wolves thin down low, having averaged 10.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 18.1 minutes per game. While Reid is a tad undersized at the center position at 6-foot-9, he is incredibly versatile in the sense that he can switch defensively and score the ball in different ways on the other end. For his career, he’s shot 34.1 percent from three on 2.6 tries per game, which is a solid number for a center. If Reid could help the Wolves secure a playoff spot in spite of the injury to Towns, he could be due for a big raise.
Reid, an impending unrestricted free agent, is playing on a $1.9 million deal this season. He would certainly get more than that on the open market if free agency kicked off today. He is set to be one of the better backup centers eligible to sign a new deal this off-season, and plenty of teams will be calling the 23-year-old to inquire about his services.