If the Detroit Pistons are going to steal Naz Reid from the Minnesota Timberwolves this summer, it’s going to cost them at least $100 million over four years.
The Timberwolves have made it clear that they would love to keep Reid, who was a key rotation player for them, but have limited paths to do it if they want to keep Julius Randle and stay under the second apron.
The T’Wolves could offer Reid somewhere in the range of $22 million per season and still keep Randle past next season, but they would still need 4-5 players to complete their roster and would have to go over the 2nd tax apron to retain Nickeil-Alexander Walker (according to The Game Theory podcast), another player who might interest the Pistons given his ties to Trajan Langdon, who was his GM back in New Orleans.
The Pistons could theoretically pry Reid away with an offer in the 4 years/$100 million range, but there are big challenges to doing so.
I have written about Reid a lot already and do think he’d be a nice addition as a big who can spread the floor and provide defensive versatility. But I’ve also talked a lot about how difficult it would be given that the Pistons don’t have nearly enough cap space to sign him outright.
They’d also have to have a long think about whether Reid is worth that price.
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The Pistons simply cannot get Reid without making other moves, and the Timberwolves might be reluctant to give up an important player for nothing.
That makes a sign-and-trade a possibility, but that would also be a challenge, as the ‘Wolves would have to get under the first tax apron to be able to do it. The Pistons could send them Tobias Harris to match salaries and negotiate from there, so on the surface, this could work out for Detroit, as they’d be getting their long-term answer at power forward.
But teams have to be careful about who they give these big deals to, as it will have a ripple effect on other players. With Cade Cunningham’s extension kicking in next season and both Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren eligible this summer and Ausar Thompson the summer after that, the Pistons have to allocate their cap space wisely.
These tax aprons have teeth, and if you go beyond them, you had better have a team that can win a title, otherwise you are sacrificing money and flexibility and may hit a wall you can’t get through, ask the Suns. Ask the Bucks. Ask the Nuggets.
Value for money is as important, or more important than talent, and you can certainly make an argument that the Pistons could get more bang for their buck in free agency by trying to sign two players with the money they’d have to give Reid.
For example, would you rather have Naz Reid or Nickeil Alexander-Waker AND Jake LaRavia? You may be able to get two rotation players for the price of one which means more quality depth, something that these NBA Finals have proven is crucial.
Reid is a great idea in a vacuum, but the financial side is tricky, especially now that Cunningham made All-NBA and the Pistons have less cap space to throw around.
The Pistons may be able to steal Reid from the Timberwolves but would have to question if the cost is really worth it.