Naz Reid expanding his game in effort to earn more playing time for Timberwolves

The Timberwolves' trade for Rudy Gobert shook up the team's roster in numerous ways, both in terms of what the Wolves were missing in the players and draft picks sent out, and what was coming back to them — a player who could revamp how the Wolves look on defense and rebounding.

Lost in the mix was what the trade meant for those who remained behind after the Jazz and Wolves completed the deal in July. Among those was Naz Reid, who was always behind Karl-Anthony Towns in the pecking order for playing time. Over his three seasons with the Wolves, Reid usually only saw the floor as the Wolves' backup center.

Now he is behind two All-Star centers, one of whom will likely be on the floor at all times.

Where did the trade leave Reid, the undrafted player out of LSU who had carved a niche for himself with the Wolves? It left him working on his skill set to play at the four, or power forward position, in an attempt to make himself more versatile and play more minutes.

"I want to be able to play multiple positions, be able to guard multiple positions and help the team win in any way, shape or form that I can," Reid said at media day in September.

Coach Chris Finch has given Reid that opportunity through the Wolves' first three preseason games.

When Gobert and Towns sat out the first preseason game, Reid started at center. When Gobert played the second game, Reid started alongside him with Towns still out. Then when Towns played Sunday and Gobert was out, Reid started alongside Towns. Reid had his best game of the preseason Sunday with 20 points and 11 rebounds and 23 minutes in a 119-117 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles.

Towns and Reid shared the floor for only 84 minutes last season, with Finch was often reluctant to pair them together. With the Wolves going big across the board after adding Gobert, Reid might see more time with another center this season.

"It'll be hard to play three bigs, it always is," Finch said. "But we're trying to get him more reps at the four. He spent all summer really trying to do that. It gives us great insurance either way."

Reid's offense has always been there, averaging 9.5 points per game while shooting 35% from three-point range during his career. He looked at ease playing alongside Towns on that end of the floor because of his ability to roll to the basket. All nine of Reid's field goals came in the paint.

If he is going to play as a power forward, Reid will need to guard players smaller and quicker than he is. He likely will be competing with veteran Kyle Anderson for minutes at that spot.

"If you want to grow, it's something that you got to step up and do," Reid said. "You're going to be guarding guys that you haven't guarded before."

Defense is especially paramount for Reid as he enters a contract year. To that end, Reid said he worked a lot this offseason with forwards Nathan Knight and Jaden McDaniels.

"I built a lot of camaraderie with those guys," Reid said. "We've done a lot of things on and off the court where I feel like we're really locked in. I feel like with me guarding Jaden, me guarding Nate, that's like guarding a four. I'm preparing myself for the season, getting ready for the season. Iron sharpening iron."

Finch will have a lot of unknowns in his rotations when the Wolves open the regular season Oct. 19 against Oklahoma City at Target Center, with Reid's playing time being among the biggest question marks.