The Minnesota Timberwolves and Naz Reid have agreed to a five-year commitment.
Naz Reid had a career-defining year with the Minnesota Timberwolves as he averaged 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game during the 2024-25 NBA season.
After averaging career-high numbers across the box score, Reid declined his $15 million player option with the Timberwolves.
But Reid signed a five-year, $125 million extension with the franchise, quickly withdrawing his name from the top free agents this summer.
Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty ImagesMinnesota Timberwolves could face $65 million in luxury taxes after extending Naz Reid
There’s no doubt that Reid earned every penny of his new contract extension. He will likely be the team’s starting power forward or center next season.
The Timberwolves may also be grooming him to become a replacement for the aging Rudy Gobert.
But let’s not forget that the Timberwolves have other financial obligations as well. That includes Julius Randle opting into his $30.9 million player option and possibly extending Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
“Naz Reid’s raise makes keeping both Julius Randle and Nickeil Alexander-Walker costly without reducing payroll,” HoopHype’s NBA Salary Cap expert Yossi Gozlan wrote on X.
He added: “For example, Randle opting in and Alexander-Walker re-signing for $14.1 million (mid-level) puts the Wolves over the second apron and increases taxes by $65 million.”
That’s expensive, especially considering the Timberwolves paid $90.4 million in luxury taxes last season. They were only second to the Phoenix Suns, who paid a massive $152.2 million in tax penalties.
As things stand right now, the Timberwolves are just $1.8 million below the second apron, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Did Naz Reid deserve the $125 million contract extension?
While T-Wolves will handle the situations with Randle and Alexander-Walker later, the current topic of discussion is Reid.
The Timberwolves star is set to turn 26 years old this season, so he’ll be 30 years old when his current contract expires.
From that perspective, it makes sense. On top of that, let’s not forget Reid was an undrafted prospect in the 2019 NBA Draft. He has worked his way up to becoming an integral part of the Timberwolves.
StatsPointsReboundsAssists2019-209.0 PPG4.1 RPG1.2 APG2020-2111.2 PPG4.6 RPG1.0 APG2021-228.3 PPG3.9 RPG0.9 APG2022-2311.5 PPG4.9 RPG1.1 APG2023-2413.5 PPG5.2 RPG1.3 APG2024-2514.2 PPG6.0 RPG2.3 APG
It’s obvious that Reid has shown stellar growth in his career. He also won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2024.
So, yes, Reid does deserve his huge contract extension as he prepares for next season.