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New York Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Naz Reid, Timberwolves agree to 5-year, $125 million contract: Sources
MINNEAPOLIS — Naz Reid is staying home. On Friday, Naz Reid and the Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract, team and league sources confirmed to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski. There is a player option on the last year of the deal. The deal ensures that the former Sixth Man of the Year will remain with the only team he has played for in his career and stay in a city that has embraced him as one of their own. Advertisement Reid averaged a career-high 14.2 points and 4.9 rebounds and shot 38 percent from 3-point range in his sixth season in Minnesota. He is the longest-tenured player on the Timberwolves roster. He was an undrafted free agent out of LSU in 2019 and has become one of the best player development stories in franchise history. Reid did not get chosen in the draft because of concerns about where he fit on the floor. Scouts saw him as too big and heavy to play power forward, but not tall enough to be effective as a center. It didn't take long for the Wolves to know they had a steal on their hands. Before Reid even got to training camp, he had a two-way contract. He spent time with the G-League team in Iowa in his first season, tearing up the competition and showing early signs of the ball-handling and shooting skills he possesses from inside and out. By his second season, Reid was playing 19 minutes per game and a firm part of the Timberwolves rotation. He reshaped his body, dropping about 30 pounds to turn himself into a lean, sleek combo forward with the handle of a guard. The Timberwolves fan base took note, seeing all the work that he put in and combining hit with a dynamic skill set to make him one of the most popular players on the team. Naz Reid towel night is the stuff of legend in Minnesota, a give-away that ended up going for over $100 on eBay. During the 2024 run to the Western Conference finals, a local tattoo parlor inked Reid's name on hundreds of Wolves fans throughout the Twin Cities. Folks in Alabama use 'Roll Tide' as a way to say hello and goodbye, to congratulate someone for getting married or graduating from college, a universal term of approval for any walk of life. In Minnesota, it's 'Naz Reid.' See a Wolves hat on a passerby at the Mall of America? Naz Reid. Driving by a local pizza place on the way home? Naz Reid. This story will be updated.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Naz Reid agrees to new five-year, $125 million deal to stay with Timberwolves: Report
Naz Reid has signed a new five-year, $125 million contract to stay with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to ESPN's Sham Charania. Reid had the choice to exercise a $15 million player option to stay with the Timberwolves. Instead, he has agreed to a deal to keep him with Minnesota long-term. Per Charania, the new contract also includes a player option. After winning the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award after a breakout 2023-24 campaign, the 6-foot-9, 264-pound Reid authored an impressive encore, averaging 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 27.5 minutes per game, all career highs, as an integral frontcourt contributor for a Wolves team that made its second straight run to the Western Conference finals. The sixth-year pro has turned into one of the NBA's premier reserves, serving as a high-volume, high-efficiency stretch big who has fit snugly at power forward and center next to a variety of partners over the years — Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Taurean Prince, T.J. Warren, et al. When Reid checks into the game, he provides a welcome and immediate injection of 3-point variance, downhill driving and interior finishing — all while helping to space the floor for Minnesota superstar Anthony Edwards. Advertisement Reid can allow a team to play twin-towers lineups built around a screen-and-dive center without sacrificing spacing, or to run five-out small-ball looks without punting on rim protection and defensive rebounding — an unassuming and devastatingly effective Allen key to unlock whichever lineup combination might be most effective on any given night. And while he isn't necessarily thought of as a top-flight rim protector and interior defender on his own, his strength and lateral quickness have made him an effective switch defender on the perimeter; the Wolves have allowed fewer points per possession with him on the floor than off of it in five of his six pro seasons, and he's long posted above-average block and steal rates for a big man. 'Defensively, Naz has been outstanding,' Wolves head coach Chris Finch told reporters in the spring of 2024. 'He has taken a lot of different matchups, and in his switching, Naz creates a lot of transition opportunities for us. We don't get a ton of those and he is responsible for a lot of it, whether it is pushing it [via passing and dribbling] or at the end of it [with the finish]. And he is just a ball-mover; he has that dynamic quality for our offense.' That combination of shooting, complementary frontcourt playmaking and possession-ending defensive work is pretty rare. Last season, only seven players in the NBA made 150 3-pointers, dished 150 assists, blocked 50 shots and snagged 50 steals: three MVPs (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, Kevin Durant), a two-time All-NBA selection (Edwards), two universally beloved 3-and-D players on nine-figure contracts (Derrick White and OG Anunoby) … and Reid. Advertisement That's awfully lofty company for Reid — who turns 26 in August, just entering his prime, with plenty more developmental runway still ahead of him — and the kind of heights few anticipated he'd reach when he signed with the Wolves as an undrafted free agent out of LSU in the summer of 2019. 'To see where Naz was three, four years ago and to see where he is now, he's only at that place because of a tremendous work ethic,' Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said back in 2023. 'He's become obsessed with the game, obsessed with keeping his body right. Anytime you surround some of your best players with guys who are as impactful culturally and on the court as Naz, you do everything you can to keep those guys.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
16-year-old accused of killing person is charged as an adult
Jun. 27—AUSTIN, Minn. — A 16-year-old is facing murder charges in Mower County after allegedly shooting two individuals inside a car. Phillip Tyrek Gills, of Austin, is charged as an adult with two counts of second-degree murder with intent. He made an initial appearance in court Friday morning, June 27. Gills was placed on $1 million bail with conditions or $2 million unconditional bail. Gills is accused of shooting and killing a man inside a black Chevrolet Traverse on Feb. 15. According to the complaint, law enforcement responded to a report of a shooting around 1:35 p.m. on Feb. 15 in the area of Fifth Avenue Northwest and 11th Street Northwest in Austin. Officers pulled the driver out of the vehicle to provide medical care, but the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The front seat passenger had exited the vehicle and was taken to Mayo Clinic Health System — Austin by a neighbor. The passenger was then flown to St. Marys with gunshot wounds. The complaint said the passenger later told police that he and the driver were shot inside the vehicle. Officers found that the driver's window was broken with shards of glass outside of the car. There were bullet shell casings and a bullet hole with no exit hole inside the vehicle, the complaint said. Police also found footprints directly outside of the back passenger seat. According to the complaint, witnesses said there was a third occupant of the vehicle who fled the scene. One witness said they heard a gunshot and looked toward the vehicle when they saw a black male wearing a tan hoodie and black pants exiting the back seat of the car. The male ran eastbound, and a second witness saw him walking fast east on Fifth Avenue Northwest in the 900 block. According to the complaint, the witness pointed out a trail left in the snow on Fifth Avenue Northwest that belonged to the suspect. The complaint said a third witness saw the male disappear behind a garage on Eighth 8th Street Northwest. Officers followed the last matching footprint to 809 6th Avenue Northwest. Another individual shared their surveillance footage that showed a male running and walking east in the 700 block of Sixth Avenue Northwest wearing a tan sweatshirt, black pants and white shoes, the complaint said. Police identified the suspect in surveillance footage at 709 5th Street Northwest and 711 5th Street Northwest. The male was breathing heavily and coughing on the surveillance footage at 709 5th Street Northwest, the complaint said. The homeowner at 709 5th Street Northwest identified him as Gills. Another person in the home told police he heard Gills having a heated conversation at the residence. The person said he saw Gills change clothes when he arrived at the residence. An autopsy of the driver was completed on Feb. 16. There were seven entry wounds in the victim's body, with all entrance wounds on his back, the complaint said. The person who sat in the front passenger seat told police the driver knew Gills, but he did not. According to the complaint, they stopped the car to pick Gills up. The passenger heard several gunshots, turned and saw that the driver appeared to be dead. Gills then shot the passenger twice, the passenger said. The defendant was certified to adult court on June 25. An initial appearance is scheduled for July 7.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Elgin man accused of assaulting Houston Hoedown board member sentenced
Jun. 27—HOUSTON, Minn. — An Elgin man accused of assaulting a Houston Hoedown board member during the 2024 festival was sentenced to one-year of supervised probation and ordered to pay restitution. Colton Brent McNallan, 19, was charged with felony third-degree assault and misdemeanor counts of fifth-degree assault, underage alcohol consumption and fleeing a peace officer. Court documents said McNallan "slammed" a board member into the pavement after the member wouldn't let McNallan through to use the restroom. McNallan pleaded guilty in March to a lesser assault charge. In exchange for his plea, the other charges were dismissed. McNallan was sentenced in Houston County District Court on Thursday, June 26. He was ordered to pay $16,938. According to the criminal complaint, Houston police were contacted by a man around midnight on July 28, 2024, who said a man assaulted a Houston Hoedown board member. Officers observed a shirtless man, later identified as McNallan, running in the middle of a Houston street. As an officer activated his squad car's emergency lights and approached McNallan, McNallan climbed over a fence into the backyard of a residence, the complaint said. After arresting him, officers found two unopened Michelob Ultra beer cans in his front pockets. Officers met with the board member, who said he was closing the beer and brat area when a man approached him wanting to use the bathroom. The man got close to the board member and wanted to go around to use the bathroom. The board member put his hand on the man's shoulder and pointed toward the bathrooms. They started pushing each other back and forth, when the man grabbed the board member and slammed him into the pavement, the complaint said. The board member landed on his shoulder, and the man landed on top of him. The board member sustained a massive tear of the two tendons in his shoulder, according to the complaint. At the jail, McNallan told officers he was drinking throughout the day at the festival grounds, and he started running after seeing the police. McNallan had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.275.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rudy Gobert Reacts to Timberwolves Drafting His Potential Replacement Joan Beringer
Rudy Gobert Reacts to Timberwolves Drafting His Potential Replacement Joan Beringer originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Minnesota Timberwolves' selection of Joan Beringer could be a harbinger for what's ahead for Rudy Gobert. Advertisement Selected with the 17th overall pick the day before Gobert's 34th birthday, Beringer, an 18-year-old Frenchman, could be the heir apparent to Gobert's place at the heart of the Timberwolves defense. Beringer has a unique blend of size, mobility and has great hands for picking up the game of basketball just four years ago. However, his inexperience and raw talent have made him one of the draft's biggest mysteries. Gobert, who turns 34 on June 26, signed a three-year $110 million extension last year that will keep him under contract through the 2027-28 season. He'll be 36 years old in the final year of that deal. Advertisement While Beringer could be the reason the Timberwolves move on from Gobert one day, he'll play understudy to the four-time Defensive Player of the Year for now. Meanwhile, the elder Frenchman took to X after the Wolves selected Beringer on June 25. Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27)Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Just minutes after Beringer's selection, Gobert posted a series of emojis along prayer hands (or high-fives) and a wolf. Facing questions about Naz Reid, who has a player option in his contract this summer, the Timberwolves gained some security at backup center. In NBC Sports' final mock draft, the outlet argued that Reid's shortcomings on defense could be reason for Beringer to begin seeing playing time as a developmental rim protector. Advertisement Overall, the selection of Beringer will not see its final valuation until years down the line, considering his young age. Related: Timberwolves Fans React to Joan Beringer as No. 17 Pick in NBA Draft This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
