Naz Reid Trade Addressed by NBA Insider as Potential Changes to Hornets' Roster Eyed

With the Charlotte Hornets building for the future, veteran center Naz Reid could once again be utilized as a trade chip.

The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski suggested Tuesday on his podcast "the possibilities of Naz Reid getting traded again are very high" (20:53 mark).

"This is a roster that I think is going to change over quite a bit over the next couple of years as the Hornets look for the right combination of people to really vault what they hope is contention," the NBA insider said. "I think you can say that Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel are gonna be there. Beyond that, who knows?"

Krawczynski elaborated that the change of scenery may have adversely impacted Reid.

The 27-year-old built a strong connection with the Minnesota Timberwolves and their fans as he evolved from an undrafted free agent to the Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24. That made him a popular figure in Minneapolis.

It's tough to replicate that with basically any other team in the NBA, where he won't have that same kind of history.

Reid's adjustment to a new team could help explain his halftime benching in a 97-89 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 28. Coach Charles Lee said after the game he "didn't meet our standards in the first half."

Reid immediately assumed his usual role in the rotation, and he has performed particularly well of late. He had 25 points and 13 rebounds in a 124-112 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.

Cavaliers-Hornets Highlights

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Reid is signed through the 2028-29 season and you'd assume he'll pick up his $28.4 million player option for 2029-30. The Hornets may like having that much team control when they haven't exactly been a magnet for free agents.

More likely is that Charlotte viewed the stretch big as a nice trade asset to flip to a contender from the moment he arrived in the LaMelo Ball trade.