Wolves' Naz Reid Ruled Out vs. Jazz: Joan Beringer's Time to Shine?

Reid will sit on the second half of a back-to-back after dealing with an ankle injury on Tuesday.

Mar 17, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) blocks a shot by Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) in the fourth quarter at Target Center. | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Timberwolves have ruled out forward Naz Reid (ankle) for Wednesday night's game against the Utah Jazz. He was previously deemed questionable but will officially sit on the second half of a back-to-back for Minnesota.

Reid had a significant-looking injury scare in Tuesday night's win over the Suns. He landed awkwardly in the first half and was down for a couple minutes, holding his right ankle and pounding the court in pain. Fortunately, it wasn't anything serious. Reid was announced as questionable to return but did come back to the game and play a little over nine more minutes in the second half.

It makes plenty of sense to give Reid the night off on Wednesday. Not only did he twist his ankle last night, he's been dealing with a shoulder injury lately as well. And the Wolves should have a good chance to get a win on Wednesday even without Reid or leading scorer Anthony Edwards (knee). The Utah Jazz have lost 38 of their last 48 games and are very much in the process of tanking for better lottery odds as an organization.

Utah is currently playing without Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Jusuf Nurkic, and Walker Kessler. Ace Bailey is questionable. These are the eight players who made up the rotation in the Jazz's most recent contest:

Cody Williams
Andersson Garcia
Elijah Harkless
Isaiah Collier
Brice Sensabaugh
Bez Mbeng
Oscar Tshiebwe
Blake Hinson

That is some high-level tanking. If you haven't heard most of those names, that's understandable.

Without Reid, this could be an opportunity for the Wolves to give rookie big man Joan Beringer some NBA run. He hasn't seen extended playing time in a game since a February 22 contest against the 76ers where Rudy Gobert was suspended. Over his last four appearances with the Iowa Wolves in the G League, Beringer has averaged 20 points and 15.3 rebounds on 69 percent shooting. He's been dominant at that level of competition.

The Wolves' starting lineup of Ayo Dosunmu, Donte DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Gobert figures to remain unchanged from Tuesday. Bones Hyland and Kyle Anderson will be the top two players off the bench. Beyond those seven, Beringer and Terrence Shannon Jr. would appear to be next in line for rotational minutes for Chris Finch.

Ideally, the Wolves will handle their business through three quarters against the Jazz and get to rest some key players down the stretch. They play the Trail Blazers on Friday and then have three straight tough games against the Celtics, Rockets, and Pistons.