Charles Lee Wants Hornets to Expand Naz Reid's Offensive Role

Naz Reid made 7 of his 14 shots Sunday night and scored 16 points in 20 minutes. Only Brandon Miller, with 18, scored more in the Charlotte Hornets' 105-90 preseason win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Spectrum Center.

Reid went 2-of-6 from 3-point range and added 2 rebounds and 1 assist. It was his second straight preseason game in double figures.

Milwaukee opened with a 10-2 lead behind 3-pointers from Ryan Rollins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. Charlotte tied the game at 13, then outscored the Bucks 31-19 in the second quarter. The Bucks turned it over 7 times in the first half. Tyler Herro led Milwaukee with 18 points in 23 minutes, while Kyle Kuzma and Rollins scored 12 apiece.

Hornets coach Charles Lee said his players covered for each other a ton in pick-and-roll coverage.

"I thought that our defensive intensity and connectivity just went to another level," Lee said. "I really thought our guys tightened the screws. I thought there was a ton of really good possessions defensively, where you see a guy either doing a great job on the ball, or he gets beat, and the shift activity around it. The pick and roll coverage, I just thought that we were covering for each other a ton."

"And so to go from a 26-point first quarter, which is pretty good, to then all of a sudden a 19-point second quarter, I was really proud of just the defensive connectivity tonight," Lee added.

Reid came off the bench through most of seven seasons in Minnesota and won Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24. Lee said the Timberwolves did a good job of using him as a screener at times, something Lee found going back through the film.

"Watching him from afar, I think that he hasn't been in a ton of those positions," Lee explained. "He definitely has shown throughout his career that he's a very capable scorer. And a ton of it, I think, has been done playing off of other guys and spacing the floor and shooting."

"As you continue to dive into the film, there were some areas in which Minnesota did a good job of using him as a screener at times," Lee continued. "And so we want to be able to leverage the versatility that he has. And then we also want to be able to push him to another level with some of that maybe mid-post, post-up versus [advantages and disadvantages]. And I think that he's done a really good job so far, just playing under control, letting the spacing around him work and then either figuring out for himself or his teammates."

LaMelo Ball and Josh Green went to Minnesota in the June 25 trade, a day after the 2026 draft. Charlotte got Reid, 27, and an unprotected 2033 first-round pick. More picks and swaps, spread across the next seven years, came with it.

In his last season with the Timberwolves, Reid shot 45.6% from the field and 36.2% from 3-point range on the way to 13.6 points a game. He added 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists. His career scoring average is 11.9.

That last run with Minnesota ended in the second round of the playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs, the franchise's fifth straight postseason trip.

Lee called Reid a joy to work with last week.

Miller said the Hornets believe in Reid against smaller guards.

"A lot of different sources to go to with me and Naz," Miller said. "I feel like we hit him in the post a lot. Usually, more than likely, most teams won't help off of me. So it kind of gives him an advantage just to go one-on-one. We believe in Naz to go one-on-one on smaller guards like that. So just having that advantage and that connection with him is always great for us as an organization."

Kon Knueppel and Coby White have not played in the preseason.

Miller wants that same room to work for himself. He made 4 of his 9 3-point attempts Sunday.

"Definitely, just like you said, taking advantage of smaller defenders, slower defenders," Miller explained. "I think having that kind of space is going to give me more room to, of course, work, but also I have a lot of shooters around the perimeter, so if they help, that's a quick pass, quick three. So it's always a win if it's helping me."

Moussa Diabaté finished with 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. Charlotte outrebounded Milwaukee 54-48. Myles Turner blocked 5 shots for the Bucks in the loss, which dropped Milwaukee to 1-2 in the preseason.

Reid was ranked the 82nd-best player in the NBA entering the season.

The Hornets open the regular season Oct. 21 against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.