NBA: 5 positional battles to watch as training camps begin

Minnesota Timberwolves: Ed Davis vs. Naz Reid

Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the best big men in the league, is obviously going to be starting at the center position on the first and last day of the season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but there’s a battle for his backup between the 21-year-old Naz Reid who performed well in 30 games last season and Ed Davis who didn’t perform well in 28 games last season but just so happens to be D’Angelo Russell’s friend.

Reid played 97 percent of his minutes this past season at the center spot which might not have been the case next to KAT since he can theoretically slide to the four slot, but he brought shooting to a lineup that needed in the worst possible way.

He hit 33 percent of his 3’s on just over three attempts per game which were in the 58th percentile according to Cleaning the Glass among big men.

Ed Davis came into Utah last season with the intent to replace Derrick Favors, one of the better backup bigs in the league, but injuries derailed that goal pretty early on and even when he could get on the court, it didn’t look pretty.

Maybe there’s the potential for a bounce-back season since he was a quality low-usage big man in Brooklyn the season prior.

Despite all the angling as a smart and analytical franchise, the Timberwolves appear to have done nothing but pander to their superstars (or maybe a non-superstar player in Russell) while building this team.

I think it’s very clear that this is Reid’s role on the team and his diversity on offense even helps the case – I’d be extremely shocked if Davis steals it from him.