Timberwolves Exercise Options On Naz Reid, Jaylen Nowell

The Timberwolves are exercising their team options on center Naz Reid and shooting guard Jaylen Nowell, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Each player is set to make $1.9 million in 2022-23, with neither deal fully guaranteed.

Reid, 22, is 6-foot-9 and was a regular rotation player for the Wolves during the regular season, averaging 8.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 77 games.

Nowell, 22, is 6-4 and also made a mark in the regular season, appearing in 62 games and averaging 8.5 points on about 48 percent shooting.

But both players saw their minutes — and therefore, productivity — reduced during the playoffs. So it’s still difficult to predict their immediate future with the team, as Krawczynski suggested.

That said, Wolves coach Chris Finch recently had some praise for Nowell.

“We saw in short stints out there what he’s able to do,” Finch said, via Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “He’s an x-factor, he’s a game-changer. I think everybody needs that. He has the ability to create his own basket, he has the ability to attack switching. He’s actually an underrated play-maker.”