Naz Reid is headed into a very different role with the Charlotte Hornets, and one NBA analyst thinks the change could unlock a huge season.
After Charlotte landed Reid from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the blockbuster LaMelo Ball trade, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report projected that the big man could average a “20-point, 10-rebound double-double” in the 2026-27 NBA season.
Buckley made the case that Reid arrives in Charlotte as “objectively speaking, the best backup big man in basketball,” and said the Hornets are clearly looking at a bigger future for him. He also noted that Reid was “by far the most significant player they received for their stunning subtraction of franchise face LaMelo Ball.”
The expectation, according to Buckley, is that Charlotte will lean on Reid heavily as it tries to explain the move to fans still unsure about it. If he’s logging 30-plus minutes a night and seeing time at both the 4 and 5, Buckley wrote, he should become a “double-double machine.” He also pointed to Reid’s career per-36-minute numbers, which sit at 19.7 points and 8.5 rebounds.
That kind of workload would mark a major shift for Reid. Next season will be the first time in his NBA career that he starts, and it will be interesting to see how the 26-year-old fits into head coach Charles Lee’s system.
Reid already has one major individual honor on his résumé, winning the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year award. Through his regular-season career, he has averaged 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, while posting 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in the playoffs.
His most recent season in Minnesota offered a glimpse of what Charlotte might be getting. Reid averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 45.6% from the field, 36.2% from 3-point range and 73.2% from the free-throw line. He also finished with six double-doubles.
Reid is set to make $23,275,862 next season, and multiple teams have tried to pry him away from Charlotte, but the Hornets are keeping the talented power forward.
Reid also described the moment he learned about the trade in an interview with Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. He said he was on a plane to the Bahamas when the news came through.
“I was on my way to the Bahamas,” Reid said. "I just checked my bags, I left the greeter service.
As soon as I sit down on the plane, I get the phone call from my agent and the GM in Minnesota. And I’m looking at the phone, but I already knew what it was about, you know what I’m saying?
So, at that time I was going to get off the plane and try to figure stuff out.
“At that point, I’m with my family. I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m just going to go enjoy family time with them.
And then when I get back, handle business from there.’ The initial phone call from my agent a couple days before, it was a little shocking.
But it’s a business, and it’s kind of how it goes.”
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