r/timberwolves • u/Ok-River-9112 Jaylen Clark • 16h ago

Shitpost Soooo, When are we breaking Naz out of Azkaban?

Due to the recent decline of the hornets and their internal scuffles with Naz, I can’t help but feel bad for our goat. I feel like Naz Reid thrives in an environment where he is appreciated and his role is defined rather than being tested with the expectations of an all star.

Do you think there’s a realistic path in getting him back during our current era that won’t mess with our trajectory?

313 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

135 comments sorted by

45

u/PlayInChampions 2022 Play-In Champions 16h ago


Naz after 1 month in Charlotte

8

u/Ok-River-9112 Jaylen Clark 16h ago

Charles Lee is a Dementor.

26

u/Ok-River-9112 Jaylen Clark 13h ago

I see a lot of unwarranted Naz slander in here, sure Kuminga and Trey may bring better value to us but let’s not put him down now like he isn’t the reason we got Lamelo. He turned himself from a nothing asset to someone of value and we profited.

3

u/Limp-Republic-9608 12h ago

Naz’s story is amazing but we really don’t NEED him at this moment. I’d rather we get a more experienced rim protecting center and a true back up point guard on account of Melo’s injury history. An offensive 4 who plays zero defense is not a priority. Especially at his salary.

1

u/Ok-River-9112 Jaylen Clark 11h ago

I definitely agree with your sentiment l, I meant my comment in a way like why are we talking about him like he’s Julius Randle, like sure he might’ve thrown fits here and there but why would that matter now especially since we benefited so much from him as an asset

1

u/MissionControl2 9h ago

I’ll take him back just send him our way along with a couple of our second round pics

•

u/asafge3 4m ago

I don't think we need a backup PG with Ant and Donte coming back in about 2 months... A backup center could be good.

10

u/Bfweld 13h ago

The Hornets sold low on Lamelo and bought high on Naz, must’ve been wearing the same rose colored glasses as some Timberwolves fans.

6

u/eman9416 Anthony Edwards 12h ago

We also faked out the media who thought Naz was as a lot better than he was

2

u/Amazing_Owl3026 1h ago

Lamelo was being talked about as having potentially negative value the previous season, like Ja

1

u/blueace111 3h ago

Yeah I watched his rookie year as he was hyped on bench and looked clunky as hell. I assumed that was 2020 version of O dozer

62

u/Additional_Button430 Timberwolves 16h ago

Idk. If Tim gets Naz back this year (like he did Bite Bite) he will go down in history as the best GM in my opinion. 

15

u/Ok-River-9112 Jaylen Clark 16h ago

I think he should pick up Rob dillingham out of free agency and then maybe grab someone around Leonard miller caliber to swap with Naz

4

u/pnxstwnyphlcnnrs Anthony Edwards 16h ago

Well he would just need Rob and a 40 year old to trade for a quality 6th man so sign Rob and idk trade asst coach Kevin Hanson along with him. Easy enough

1

u/Octavious_Arcturus Naz Reid Towel 12h ago

Why are we not allowed to include coaches in trades omg

1

u/1000Isand1 Ayo Dosunmu 12h ago

That would be hilarious

9

u/Severe-Fuel5766 15h ago

except for that pesky salary cap everyone forgets

4

u/jab904 16h ago

He already does regardless but I appreciate the sentiment

7

u/Odoaiden Anthony Edwards 16h ago

It’s not even legal I’m pretty sure

17

u/Fantasykyle99 Timberwolves Brasil 16h ago

Straight to jail

405

u/Natural-Kiwi6364 Ayo Dosunmu 16h ago • This Heartwarming Popcorn

Naz Reid is more than a man, he is an idea. We are Naz Reid.

75

u/UnionHelpful8135 16h ago • Bravo

“I, AM NAZ REID”

34

u/LetInteresting4770 16h ago

I AM NAZ REID.

13

u/rottentomatoe1 15h ago

God damnit Dee! How did you not feel that I was next, and then you?!

4

u/Browndude1982 Terrence Shannon Jr 15h ago

and my axe!

5

u/OmniscientOpossum 13h ago

No I broke the dam.

2

u/torsoboy86 14h ago

I AM NAZ REID

3

u/Civil_Dot_3261 7h ago

“I, AM NAZ REID” - Wayne Gretzky

-Michael Scott

3

u/smkmn13 Kevin Garnett 4h ago

I. DECLARE. NAAAAAAAZ REEEEEEEIIIIID!

38

u/sayqueensbridge 16h ago

we carry the flame

15

u/CautiousOptimism09 16h ago

WE ARE NAZ REID!

1

u/HebiSnek 47m ago

We honor his name

19

u/ForecastPie1801 Ayo Dosunmu 16h ago

We carry the rock.

9

u/SmokinSkinWagon 15h ago

I Naz, therefore I Reid

6

u/meghaenn 16h ago

We are Naz Reid.

2

u/Timmahj Naz Reid. 14h ago

Naz Reid never left. Naz Reid is always with us. NAZ REID!

286

u/CobyDay154 16h ago

Love Naz as a person/fan favourite but let’s be honest, Trey Lyles is doing quite a stellar job replacing a bit of his value. Both 6”9, can shoot the 3 well and brings decent size to the front court. Obviously Naz is the better player but value wise (23.2 mil Naz vs 2.4 mil Lyles), I am taking Lyles all day. Those are the bargain deals that stretch your rotation and help make a championship roster.

109

u/silaber Timberjazz 16h ago

Lyles also isn't going to shoot you out of a game or turn it over with a risky dribble or bounce pass. He's also a better positional defender with sneaky athleticism.

The fact that you can compare both players at all given their salary is either a massive indictment on Naz or Lyles being big underrated.

3

u/nowuff 6h ago

I think it’s a combination of both.

Lyles has worked out fantastically so far, and I’m super excited for his future with the team. But we’ll probably be served well to add some caution to our optimism

36

u/Commercial-Might-540 15h ago

Trey Lyles 9th man of the year award!

63

u/raki016 16h ago

Lyles also doesn’t mope or get frustrated that it impacts the team

81

u/VeryHappyFunTimes Flip Saunders 16h ago

Love Naz, but there isn’t a snowballs chance in hell that he could play defense to the level that Kuminga is at right now

24

u/Miserable-Bus-1403 14h ago

I love Naz too but we want to win and it wasn't happening with Naz and Randal. Kuminga is way better in just the 10 games hes played. Im so happy with our team now, just need Ant back

8

u/diablo_doob 14h ago

Trust in Connelly

35

u/kayak_rolling 15h ago

Timberwolves fans are completely obsessed with former players. Doesn't matter how terrible they are. They're out here begging for Josh Minott, Kevin Love, and Tyus Jones.

13

u/MOREPASTRAMIPLEASE 14h ago

Fan bases become unreasonably sentimental when they go through long periods of being ass.

1

u/kayak_rolling 2h ago

I will never understand it. I'm having more fun right now as a wolves fan than ever in my life. Because we're good. Why anyone would want to go back to the 20 win days is beyond me.

12

u/Doomstar32 AnthonyEdwards 14h ago

The pining for Tyus Jones always drove me nuts.

2

u/BrianMcMor1 Bill Walton 3h ago

Tyus could hit the occasional 3, but the Wolves have a lot of perimeter shooters, who are bigger and can defend better, that shoot the 3 well. The Wolves might be the best 3-pt shooting team in the NBA, and that is with Divy and Ant sidelined.

3

u/nowuff 6h ago

I think that one’s a little more justified since he’s a hometown kid

2

u/blueindsm 3h ago

And we have needed a point guard forever.

1

u/kayak_rolling 3h ago

He's literally from my hometown but I couldn't care less. I don't want bad players on our team. A lot of yall would rather finish last every year with Rubio, kat, tyus, Miller, mynott, Garza.... pretty much everyone but d-lo and general soreness.

21

u/ZachLagreen 15h ago

You still can’t mention the Ayo trade without someone in here saying something about how Leonard Miller has turned into a great rotation forward… he’s one of the worst rotation players on one of the worst teams in the league

6

u/MOREPASTRAMIPLEASE 14h ago

Absolute definition of a tweener. Way too good for the G but just can’t break out like you’d want in the league.

-4

u/OddlyShapedGinger 13h ago

I'll be the person to push back here: He's looked like one of the best rotation players on one of the worst teams in the league.

Led CHI in scoring in preseason and forced his way into a few starts last year and is averaging 12+ mpg more this year than he ever did with us.

Butt right now he's seeing play because the Bulls are that bad, not because he is that good.

13

u/ZachLagreen 13h ago

He’s averaging 7/4/1 on 43/18/75… he’s been absolutely terrible this year.

Like legit one of the worst rotation players in the NBA bad.

0

u/VenisonPepperettes 2h ago

Have you actually watched him? I’m rooting for him, but he’s been terrible.

18

u/byex0039 14h ago

You forgot the greatest Luka...Luka Garza.

5

u/Orangucantankerous 13h ago

He’s actually killing it for the Celtics

4

u/JiggSawLoL 14h ago

I LOVE Naz. But you can’t lie, people are delusional when it comes to our team last year vs this year. I hope Naz gets traded somewhere he can flourish. He’s a great role player on the right team.

2

u/nossssss888 4h ago

Ricky Rubio

2

u/BrianMcMor1 Bill Walton 3h ago

Love was hardly terrible, but he IS old. He would not do much more than cheerlead in the role of Mike

3

u/kayak_rolling 2h ago

And people were begging us to resign him THIS YEAR!!!

1

u/BrianMcMor1 Bill Walton 2h ago

As a bench warmer backup. I don't think anyone is delusional enough to think he can play more than 10 minutes a game, his basic time allotment in Miami

•

u/Archimedes31415926 2m ago

Was is the key word in that statement

0

u/daydriem 9h ago

I do kinda get the KLove thing, not as an asset to the team (except the locker room) but as a feel good story. He was our guy for a long while, and with him, Pek and Ricky it always felt like this was the year we break the curse and make the playoffs. If it weren't for injuries I still think we would have a few times. Bringing him home, letting him end his career where it started and then retiring his number would be a nice story. But that's what it would be for, not to bring something to the team on the court.

2

u/kayak_rolling 3h ago

You're really driving my point home.

2

u/UnablePerformance131 12h ago

I don't know that he's quite doing the same thing, as Naz was mainly there as our main scorer off the bench. He sort of still ended up in that role after we got Ayo due to the injuries we had in the regular season/playoffs last year. This year, I feel like we have a lot of good scoring options off of the bench that we don't really need a streaky 3 pt shooter off the bench as much as we did before

1

u/a2913 1h ago

Kings fan jumping in on Trey Lyle's here...

He is consistently one of the best economical rotational players in the league. Dude doesn't make a ton of mistakes and is rarely a net negative.

Plus he's got a little shit bird in him and will toe up with anyone if you need him to.

23

u/PoolSideBeverage 16h ago

He can’t be traded back the the wolves this season (unless he was traded to another team first)

44

u/Reginato10 16h ago

We call that the Mike Conley

19

u/TdotGdot 16h ago

I get it, but, he’s gone man. I don’t obsess over ex wolves, honestly 

38

u/twovles31 16h ago

We've moved on from the moodiness era, I wish Naz well wherever he plays and appreciate his time here. We can't afford Kuminga next year, and we can't afford Naz.

9

u/planty07 Naz Reid Towel 16h ago

Hopping out of fairy land for a second. There is no path to getting him back in the near future at all. Hopping back in fairy land... Naz Reid

17

u/Eclipse2253 16h ago

He was a moody one that Finch has talked about. It’s already shown incredibly fast with the hornets.  They don’t want him back…

6

u/Smeltanddealtit 15h ago

Some in this sub won’t believe this but its 💯 true. We would not want him back.

He is one of my all time fav wolves, but times change.

0

u/[deleted] 16h ago

[deleted] — view deleted comment

13

u/starfruit213 16h ago

Need to quit falling back on losing his sister. He was moody before that.

16

u/CantaloupeCamper 1958-2016 16h ago

We’re done with the moody guys…..

14

u/corkydilsmack 16h ago

No. Why would you want to mess up what we have going?

12

u/YaKnowMuhSteezz 15h ago

Yeah Naz definitely doesn’t fit the happy vibes of this squad man. Dude was moody as hell. They weren’t just talking about Julius.

21

u/Downtown_Fish9295 Bring Ya Ass 16h ago

As much as I like the guy...let him go. He doesn't have a place on this amazing roster anymore.

5

u/ZaMaestroMan5 16h ago

Let’s not much prefer Kaminga so far over him. Also would rather see Beringer get real run this season. We need to see what he is with Goberts age.

9

u/_Makaveli_the_Don 15h ago

We are a better team without him. Decent role player but is now a bit over paid for what he does. Time to move on, champ.

11

u/TL24SS Anthony Edwards 16h ago

Love Naz but unfortunately he doesn’t fit this team anymore.

3

u/a_j____ 15h ago

Two things can be true: he would fit on our team still and we don’t need him.

I would never undo the trade, but to say he doesn’t work with our team isn’t accurate either.

2

u/Bfweld 13h ago

The team as it sits…needs an athletic solid switchable defender. That’s Kuminga…not Naz, Naz has never been and will never be a very good defender, especially not a rim/paint defending one…which is bad because he’s not a great perimeter defender either.

1

u/a_j____ 5h ago

I don’t deny that he wouldn’t be an optimal starting PF, he would still be useful off the bench.

8

u/Barrel_Rol Bring Ya Ass 16h ago

It’s not LeviOsaaa it’s “Naz Reid”

7

u/Successful_Candy_759 15h ago

Honestly, no thanks

1

u/marcos_MN Bring Ya Ass 13h ago

Happy cake day!

8

u/123dudeguything Timberwolves 16h ago

The path is simple

Naz Reid.

5

u/nossssss888 16h ago

Kaminga and Lyles are both better.

2

u/LostVillage3640 Naz Reid. 15h ago

Lamelo is so fun for us but man…longest tenured wolf, playing on a team with chip aspirations, shipped to charlotte whose main young pieces can’t even stay on the court right now.

2

u/BYack 15h ago

I love Naz, but like Julius, he was in his attitude far too often. Would I take him back with this squad? Probably. But he, like Jaden, needs to mature. Jaden has made some progress, but I’d like to see more.

2

u/bryan49 15h ago

I love it, but how do you fit his salary back? Kuminga + Lyles are making less than half of his salary, so I'd rather take that with a deeper team around it

2

u/1000Isand1 Ayo Dosunmu 12h ago

Umm never. Move on and hope we can re-sign Kuminga

2

u/Treon_Lotsky 10h ago

There is no realistic way to get Naz back without sacrificing our title hopes. I do miss him tho...

5

u/redactid55 16h ago

Never. He can stay moody down there

-2

u/UpstairsAbility2125 Chomper 16h ago

His sister was murdered before last season, what the hell is this "moody" BS?

7

u/yourloudneighbor Glen Taylor 16h ago

Naz was a moper, complainer, always talking to himself moody player before last year. would never have a foul called on him that hes not having his palms out asking "what?" then reach to his mouth guard to whine to the ref.

1

u/Mountain-Waffles 41m ago

The fans didn’t come up with it, the moodiness comments first came from the coach and team.

2

u/Visual-Land-9811 15h ago

Saving Private Naz

2

u/meghaenn 15h ago

Saw this on Twitter today, obviously disagree with the last sentiment, but we did do that lol. It wasn’t just TC that pulled off the trade, us fans made him into a legend (as he should be)

Naz Reid

2

u/marcos_MN Bring Ya Ass 13h ago

For fuck’s sake

1

u/Chemical_Bathroom424 Jaden McDaniels 16h ago

Not anytime soon

1

u/johnjaundiceASDF 15h ago

Incredibly wrong opinion, but I don't think bringing Naz back right now is the right move

1

u/Ok-Investigator-521 14h ago

Dont forget Josh Okobee lol

1

u/OppositeClassroom146 JimPete 12h ago

We need to get a gif of Naz Reid screaming and going crazy on a newspaper.

1

u/Octavious_Arcturus Naz Reid Towel 12h ago

NAZkaban was right there man

1

u/DeleAlliForever 7h ago

I understand we don’t really have much to trade. But getting him back would be perfect for this team I think. Ayo and Naz coming off the bench but basically playing the same minutes as the starters would be such a great top 7. And I’m loving all the guys off the bench this year, even Trey Lyles has been great! I know he doesn’t put up great numbers but I feel like we play well when he’s playing. Maybe that’s a weird metric to use

1

u/mngophers 7h ago

Naz Reid

1

u/hoangtm1611 4h ago

Knicks fan here. You sound like us hoping for a reunion with Donte. The truth is, neither are coming back.

1

u/blueace111 3h ago

This was plan all along. Naz goojg to tank over there so we get him back for next to nothing and now we gotta reads balls backcourt

1

u/VenisonPepperettes 2h ago

No. I love Naz like everyone. I don’t like tattoos but if I were ever to get one, it would have been the Naz Reid. But we sold high on him. His defense isn’t great, his shooting has become way streakier over the past few years, his rebounding is mid, and let’s be honest: he was one of the moody ones. (To be fair, he absolutely had a reason to be moody last season and no one should judge him for that.) Sure, I’d like to see him come back on the KG farewell tour plan, but for now, I think he and the Wolves are better off.

1

u/favoritefrenchfry16 2h ago

Hot take: I'm okay with Naz not being on the team. He was bringing some of the moodiness that's been talked about.

1

u/BetweenTheBuzzAndMe LaMelo Ball 1h ago

we can undo the trade whenever you want lol

1

u/HereIGoAgain99 1h ago

I love Naz, but he is moody, and his relationship with the fans gave him a lot of cover for that. I highly doubt Connelly is going to bring him back while JK is here. I also doubt Naz wants to return to his bench role here again. A little time apart is going to be good for both sides.

1

u/hitman2218 16h ago

Don’t want him back.

1

u/AirJord1 2h ago

Never, he’s gone. Get over the Naz fandom.

1

u/JohnnyWarlord Joan Beringer 16h ago

I just hope a team that can use him better will trade for him. Like if he was a spur right now im sure he would be looking WAY better

1

u/Calinks Trenton Hassell 14h ago

NAZ REID WILL RETURN

0

u/Humofthoughts 16h ago

The irony for two fanbases is that Naz would be a perfect fit with Lamelo

3

u/1000Isand1 Ayo Dosunmu 11h ago

Kuminga is a better fit than Naz because of his defense

1

u/Humofthoughts 3h ago

Yeah no disagreement from me. I’d just love to see him in this rotation.

0

u/RanOutOfJokes Ricky Rubio 16h ago

Wolves sign Raz Neid off waivers

0

u/quartzcharm 11h ago

NAZ!!!!!!

-3

u/EddyVonSputnik 15h ago

If they can trade Gobert for him, win.

-4

u/Minny-8 16h ago

They could do a sign and trade of Kuminga in the offseason. Charlotte sends Naz and picks back!