One major domino fell for the Timberwolves in free agency Friday night, when the team agreed to a five-year deal with Naz Reid worth up to $125 million.
Wolves fans were anxious about Reid’s free agency all season, but they didn’t really have to be. President Tim Connelly always thought highly of Reid, and Connelly’s track record in both Denver and Minnesota is making sure he takes care of players who fit the team and culture he’s trying to build long-term.
Some may think of the deal as an overpay, but there are a few things to consider.
First, the salary cap and luxury tax thresholds should keep taking significant leaps over the next few seasons. Reid’s contract, the fifth season of which is a player option, likely will represent just under 14% of the cap every year. When thought of in those terms, Reid’s deal make sense for someone who would start on a lot of teams around the league.
Second, Connelly doesn’t like to haggle over the value of a contract of someone he wants to make sure is around for a while. Get the deal done, and keep everyone happy. So far, he has done that every time he has wanted to keep a player around for a while, whether Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and now Reid.
That leads into the next domino to fall for the Wolves in free agency — Julius Randle. The Wolves were working on a deal for Randle to keep him past the player option he can opt into or out of Sunday, worth around $31 million. After an inconsistent start to the season, Randle found a fit with the Wolves in the last quarter of the season, when he came back from a groin injury. He embraced more of a distributor/point forward role, and he played brilliantly in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Then he (and the rest of the Wolves, for that matter) ran into a defensive buzzsaw that was the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
There is incentive for both sides to get something done. The Wolves unlocked the potential in Randle, and he played some of the best basketball of his career last season under coach Chris Finch. There also isn’t a lot of free-agency money available this offseason, so Randle, who is 30, might be wise to get a deal done with one of the few teams that can pay him — and who won’t try to squeeze him in the process of making that deal.
Certainly, the Wolves don’t want to make a bad signing, but there is room for them to accommodate Randle under the dreaded second apron, which Connelly said the team wanted to avoid, even with Reid’s new deal. Just where Randle’s situation lands also affects what might happen down the roster with team options for such players as Luka Garza and Josh Minott for next season. But answers have to come soon.
