Naz Reid Expected To Reject $15 Million Player Option To Sign Bigger Contract This Summer

The Minnesota Timberwolves might have to open up their checkbooks for Naz Reid this summer. According to Jake Fischer on the Stein Line, Reid is planning to turn down his $15 million player option and enter free agency to land a better deal for himself in the summer.

"Reid, who is the league’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year for a few more months, possesses a $15 million player option for 2025-26 that many of those same strategists expect he’ll decline in search of a richer arrangement in the summer."

Reid is having a brilliant season this year, averaging 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.2% from the field, 40.4% from beyond the arc, and 81.1% from the free-throw line. His numbers since Julius Randle went down with an injury, thus giving Reid a starting spot, have been even better.

In the 10 games Reid has started this month, he has averaged 20.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field, 35.4% from distance, and 88.5% from the charity stripe. It is clear that Reid is better when he starts for the Timberwolves rather than when he comes off the bench to support the second unit.

Reid, as mentioned above, is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. However, his improvement as a starter suggests that he is ready for a bigger role within the team. The Timberwolves reportedly traded Karl-Anthony Towns in part because they wanted to re-sign Naz Reid this summer, and wouldn't have been able to afford Towns' new salary and Reid within the salary cap without surpassing the second apron.

While that decision can be questioned, there is no denying that with Towns gone and Edwards struggling to build winning chemistry with Julius Randle, Reid is too important to the Timberwolves and they must do whatever they can to keep him.

Timberwolves Safe From Other Teams Signing Reid

In the same report from Fischer, it was noted that the Timberwolves aren't expected to face heavy competition from other suitors. The Cavaliers, who had previously expressed interest in Naz Reid, just acquired De'Andre Hunter at the deadline. Even the Spurs and the Mavericks, who expressed interest in Reid like the Cavaliers did in 2023, are in different places as franchises now than they were two years ago.

"Before Reid signed a three-year contract extension with Minnesota in June 2023, Cleveland coveted Reid as a third big man alongside Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, sources said. The Cavaliers, though, just made a major addition of their own before the deadline passed, snagging De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks while also managing to get out of the luxury tax altogether in the process."

"San Antonio and Dallas are likewise in different places than they were when they previously emerged as clubs with Reid interest. Both of those Texas teams, sources said, were hoping for Reid to reach the open market in July 2023. The Spurs, to be specific, were eyeing the likes of Reid and Brook Lopez at the time as potential floor-stretching centers to pair with Victor Wembanyama."

This will allow the Timberwolves front office to breathe a sigh of relief heading into the summer. But that is not enough. They will have to present Reid with a significant offer, one that surpasses the $15 million salary he earns right now.

Perhaps a deal that pays him about $27 to $30 million would be a good idea, and the Timberwolves can make it a two-year or three-year deal to give themselves flexibility in case they want to enter a rebuild within the timeframe of Reid's deal.