When the Minnesota Timberwolves parted ways with Karl-Anthony Towns, Naz Reid was automatically propped up as the one who would fill the void. It's not hard to wonder why, as the 25-year-old undrafted and versatile big is considered one of the rising players in the league. While the reigning Sixth Man of the Year awardee said that he's going to miss Towns as a teammate, he's ready to fill in his shoes.
"I'm super comfortable. Me and KAT do a lot of similar things. With him being here and gone, it's the same thing for me and the same mentality. I kind of view it as the same thing. More minutes. Same thing, though. Next man up. That's my mentality. I'm going to go out there and compete at a high level, control the game and win the games and go out there and do what I do ," Reid told Sportskeeda.
Reid to the rescue
Reid, who is coming off a season where he averaged 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds, is confident that he can fill in KAT's role because he knows the ins and outs of Chris Finch's system. As someone who's been on the Wolves for six years, Reid not only knows his role by heart but also Towns', which was why he made sure to work on his all-around game during the summer.
Reid shared that with KAT gone, he'll be stepping into the center position more frequently, which means he'll need to anchor the Wolves' defense, involve teammates, initiate actions, and cover the entire interior. He noted that through his experience with Karl-Anthony, he's learned the importance of unselfish play and what it brings to the table.
" Oh, man. Just his unselfishness. He's super unselfish on and off the court. Off the court, he is there for you. On the court, he's good with his passing and things of that nature. He's super unselfish. His personality shows it a lot. That's the biggest part you miss about him ," Naz added.
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Same role, more minutes
Even if Reid is expected to take KAT's role, that doesn't mean he has to do exactly what the four-time All-Star did. If anything, Julius Randle , whom the Wolves acquired in exchange for their franchise star, is actually going to take the starting four spot. So, technically, Randle will take on the duties of providing what KAT did on both ends of the floor.
Reid will still come off the bench, but as he reiterated, he expects to play more this time around. With that, though, comes more expectations for the center to play at a high level, especially now that it's clear that the Wolves made the move to replace their long-time franchise player, knowing that Reid will break through.
Only time will tell if the reigning 6MOY lives up to the expectations or even surpasses them, especially now that all eyes are on the Timberwolves.
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