MINNEAPOLIS — Outside of a pizzeria in a blue-collar section of the city, a bouquet of daisies rests at the foot of a sign that has long served as a bat signal to Minnesota Timberwolves fans.The “Honk If You Love Naz Reid” sign has never been a more popular attraction than it has been in the days since the Timberwolves executed a blockbuster trade that sent Reid and draft compensation to Charlotte for star point guard LaMelo Ball. Fans from all over have stopped by to take pictures, share stories of one of the most popular Wolves of all time and process that he is no longer here after seven years in Minnesota.In one case, they came to literally give Naz Reid his flowers.“I have been a Minnesota sports fan for 30 some years now, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen an athlete leave Minnesota and the fans react this way,” said Kai Glinsek, the general manager of Parkway Pizza and creator of the sign. “On Saturday — I’m not even kidding — I think I saw close to 100 people come and take a picture with the sign.”Photo courtesy of Jon Krawczynski / The AthleticWhile excitement has swirled in the Twin Cities in anticipation of Ball’s arrival to team with Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves’ fan base has entered a period of mourning for Reid, who inspired with his rise from undrafted rookie free agent in 2019 to G League prospect and eventual Sixth Man of the Year who has signed contracts worth nearly $170 million.If you are a fan or observer from elsewhere who is just now seeing the tattoos, the beach towels, the pontoons and all of the fuss surrounding a player who started only 77 games in seven seasons and averaged 13.6 points last season but doesn’t understand it — or even thinks it’s weird — that’s fine. This isn’t for you.You just had to be here to fully understand the bond. Reid was Minnesota’s version of Manu Ginóbili, a super sub with a starter’s sparkle, electricity pulsing through the crown of braids on his head and a bag that shimmered like the diamonds encrusted on his teeth.Reid is 6-10 and from New Jersey by way of Baton Rouge, but these fans saw themselves in him. In the way he selflessly stayed in a bench role while Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle got the shine. In the way he stayed in Minnesota all summer while most other players scattered across the country, quietly working on his game and emerging every fall with a new trick up his sleeve. In the way he enjoyed all of the love and attention he received, but also felt unworthy of it.The Wolves won 42 games in Reid’s first two seasons — combined. As he, Edwards and Jaden McDaniels started to come into their own, they demanded that the Wolves be taken seriously. Reid was overlooked by everyone else coming out of college, viewed at the time as a player too big to play on the wing and too small to play at the rim. The fact that it was Minnesota that discovered this hidden gem only added to Reid’s lore.The game didn’t start until Reid checked in, coming off the bench to unleash in-and-out dribbles, stepback 3-pointers and soaring dunks on anyone who dared to step in his path. It wasn’t a novelty. It was a phenomenon. It wasn’t a gimmick. It was an identity.You had to be here on a summer afternoon when Reid stepped off of a boat on Lake Minnetonka and partied with Yung Gravy at a new jersey unveiling. You had to be here in the dead of winter, when the warmth of one of his Euro steps to the rim lingered through your entire drive home like a cup of hot cocoa.You just had to be here. That’s what made it so special. That is why, upon his exit, Reid will leave a real legacy here in Minnesota. It takes many forms.Naz Reid’s legacy is etched in skinJC Stroebel and Jesse George started this whole thing on a whim. The Timberwolves were surging during the 2023-24 season, and Stroebel just threw out a post on social media offering to tattoo “Naz Reid.” on any who wanted one for $20. He had no idea what was coming.Wolves fans responded in overwhelming fashion.Stroebel and George estimate they’ve done between, at least, 1,200 to 1,500 “Naz Reid.” tattoos. What started as a lark with the hope of landing tickets to a playoff game became a full-blown movement. George and Stroebel did them at live recordings of Timberwolves podcasts. They did them to help raise funds for a super fan who needed brain surgery. They even got to meet Reid in person.Photo courtesy of JC Stroebel“There’s something so beautiful, especially in such a tumultuous world, to just unify over something,” Stroebel said. “And as silly as it is to have these hundreds and hundreds of tattoos of some guy’s name, really, it’s just the first leaf in a really beautiful tree where the roots grow really deep. And when you go all the way down, you realize that it’s always been about community and connection. I think that’s when sports, and humanity in general, is in its purest form, really.”Last winter, Stroebel had his own major health scare when doctors found a tumor the size of a golf ball in his brain. The night before surgery, Stroebel watched Reid put up 33 points and seven assists in a win over Chicago, and the Timberwolves community has rallied around him, his wife and his two young children. A GoFundMe to help the family with the mounting costs of treatment and being out of work has raised almost $75,000.“I’m gonna be completely candid here,” Stroebel said. “I think it’s fair to say, in a lot of ways, that the Timberwolves have kind of saved my life, man, indirectly at least.”His recovery has had plenty of downs to go with the ups, but Stroebel presses forward with belief in his heart and “Naz Reid,” tattooed on his arm.“I think that there is a magic that Jesse and I glimpsed, that Minnesota glimpsed, that I want to bottle up,” he said. “I want to be able to take it off its shelf and take a sip of it every once in a while, man. It’s so pure, and it’s so beautiful, and no one can take it away.”Photo courtesy of JC StroebelNaz Reid’s legacy was woven in clothThe Timberwolves hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 22, 2024, as they were steamrolling toward a playoff berth that would result in the team’s first Western Conference finals run in 20 years. Reid was on his way to winning Sixth Man of the Year, and the team held a promotion giving away beach towels with his name on it, coinciding with the lake theme in that year’s City Edition uniform.The night turned into a communal experience, a celebration of the Wolves’ rise to contenders and Reid’s role in it. Late in the game, Reid put on a highlight-reel move to force a Cavaliers timeout and, essentially, seal Minnesota’s victory. During the stoppage, play-by-play announcer Michael Grady took out his phone and documented the moment.Thousands of towels hoisted by jubilant fans. “Made You Look” by Nas reverberating across the arena. Perfection.