Naz Reid gets more versatile for Timberwolves

It didn’t take long Friday for Timberwolves big men Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert to find a new kind of connection.

The moment came four minutes into a 124-107 preseason-opening victory against the Los Angeles Lakers in Palm Springs, Calif.

That’s when a team seeking to play faster after the Karl-Anthony Towns trade went nearly 94 feet in 10 seconds, featuring Reid on both ends.

They turned his defensive rebound underneath their own basket into his baseline drive and alley-oop pass to Gobert for a two-handed slam at the other end. They did so after the ball went into both the hands of Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo.

“It came so naturally,” Gobert said after practice Monday. “Second lob to me in three years, but first game.”

It’s something — playmaking — that Wolves coach Chris Finch wants to see more from Reid now in an expanding role with Towns gone to New York and Julius Randle obtained in return.

“We talked a lot about that with Naz,” Finch said. “He’s a really good passer. He has playmaking ability. He has been very locked in on scoring, which is what we’ve needed him to do coming off the bench. We still need that punch from him. "

But now the Wolves also have Randle and newly acquired DiVincenzo, obtained from the Knicks for their scoring, shooting and playmaking.

“Naz can kind of help everybody, too,” Finch said. “The ball is in his hands a lot early in the offense. Playmaking is something for him we definitely feel can get a little uptick on.”

Gobert is all for it.

“It has been working a lot,” Gobert said Monday at practice. “He sees the floor, so it’s waiting for that lob.”

The two made that connection even though they and the Wolves’ other three starters played just 10 minutes or less on Friday.

Gobert gave Reid a knowing look in a timeout shortly after the Wolves took an early 10-5 lead after Reid’s lob and Gobert’s dunk.

“After that timeout I looked at him, I didn’t say a word. It was like `Yep,’ " Gobert said.

“It’s exciting. He knows it’s a play that’s going to be money for us. It’s going to be really tough to guard and I think it’s going to be good.”

The Wolves’ next preseason game is Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. It’s a “home” game, but will be played in Des Moines, the home of Minnesota’s G League team.