2 young bigs Cavs should consider signing this summer to bolster bench

No. 1: Naz Reid

Naz Reid wouldn’t be your traditional backup 5, that’s for certain. Reid has made his mark at various points in recent seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who initially signed him via two-way deal after the 2019 NBA Draft, and shortly thereafter converted him to a standard deal.

Over the course of his four NBA seasons thus far with Minnesota, Reid has had his share of moments offensively and there’s reason to believe he can keep making further strides toward being a stretch big.

In the 2022-23 campaign, Reid had 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per contest in 68 appearances. His season was cut short in the closing stretch due to wrist surgery, leading to him not being available in Minnesota’s first round series versus the Denver Nuggets, who would win that 4-1.

But that unfortunate ending to the year doesn’t take away from Reid having a solid season. We touched on the scoring splits as a reserve big, and while his role was trimmed a bit in the season prior, Reid had 11.2 points per game in 2020-21 in his first season regularly involved, and for Cleveland, he’d provide a different element to their 5 man outlook.

Reid could feasibly fill in in some minutes backing up Jarrett Allen, and in those, he could help as a roller, and also as a player with some pick-and-pop capability and/or as a possible catch-and-shoot target. Reid’s 34.4 percent three-point hit rate through four seasons isn’t earth-shattering, but he could knock down some open deep looks, and he is an ever-improving finisher inside.

Plus, he has displayed some impressive shot creation in recent seasons with the Twolves, which is nothing to sneeze at, with him having a 6-foot-9, 264-pound frame.

Reid has gotten to push shots from an array of dribble moves, including a filthy in-n-out on his drives, he can make plays in the mid-post and can take advantage against slower bigs with nasty spin moves and Euro steps. His ability to create and convert on looks in transition, countering hard closeouts in set offense, and also at times out of the corners could all lead to him giving Cleveland a quality bench 5 that could give the Wine and Gold a jolt for stretches.

Those offensive attributes make Reid an attractive target, but Reid has natural rotational shot blocking feel as well, which is always meaningful. Through four seasons, his block rate has been a fairly notable 4.6 percent, and ditto for his blocks per-36 minutes at 1.9. His 7-foot-3.25 wingspan aids him there as well, and the same goes for the glass cleaning department.

Now, Reid didn’t fit in as well this season in lineups with him and either Rudy Gobert or Karl-Anthony Towns with Reid at the 4 some, which could cause some reason for hesitation. It’d be worth considering for Cleveland with him in lineups more so with Evan Mobley, still, given how Reid can function as a de facto 5 with Mobley and with Mobley being an instinctive passer and defender.

Reid is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and maybe he ends up re-signing with the Wolves. One couldn’t blame the Cavaliers for potentially trying to add Reid with some chunk of their MLE via multi-year deal, though. He’ll turn only 24 still later this year, and for the playoffs in ensuing years, would be a quality player to have.