Minnesota Timberwolves’ biggest challenge: What to do with Beasley?

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ biggest challenge this offseason is what to do with restricted free agent Malik Beasley.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Minnesota Timberwolves have the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

But that’s not the biggest question mark when it comes to the offseason, believe it or not.

President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas has a series of challenges, and the No. 1 pick ranks “1-B” to the “1-A” that is Malik Beasley’s contract situation.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ biggest challenge: What to do with Beasley?

Yes, it seems crazy to suggest that the No. 1 overall pick that is anything but a slam-dunk this year isn’t the top concern of the Minnesota Timberwolves front office.

In fact, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley recently suggested that the Wolves’ toughest choice would indeed be what to do with No. 1. Should they take LaMelo Ball? Anthony Edwards? Trade back and target someone in the mid-lottery like Devin Vassell or Onyeka Okongwu?

Or should they trade out as much as they can, packaging the selection with their No. 17 pick and/or the No. 33 to get back into the loaded 2021 draft, in which they currently don’t have a first-rounder at their disposal. In doing so, could they pick up an existing, starting-caliber NBA player to add to the lineup already featuring a pair of stars in Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell?

All great questions, and in a draft with no consensus top player along in Tier 1, they must be asked.

But what about Malik Beasley?

The fifth-year shooting guard averaged an efficient 20.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 14 games in a Wolves uniform. He shot a blistering 42.6 percent on 8.2 3-point attempts per game.

While the first part of his 2019-20 campaign was nothing to write home about, he was a key member of the 2018-19 Denver Nuggets, who won 54 games and landed the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Clearly, he’s an offensive talent with a lightning-quick trigger and a dynamic force in transition. But he’s a bit undersized, poor defensively, and doesn’t score much off the bounce and hasn’t had much success as a cutter, either.

What is that worth? Is he truly an efficient 20-point-per-game scorer that can function as a third-wheel alongside Towns and Russell? If the answer is ‘yes’, then he’s worth every penny of a $13 million or $14 million contract in restricted free agency.

But if he’s more parts 38-percent-from-deep and won’t improve defensively, then even $12-13 million could be a stretch.

When there are already two max contracts on the books, that salary matters. And especially considering that Rosas is no doubt still going to be “big game hunting” for a true third star to take this team from playoff contender to championship contender.

On the other hand, the Wolves will get some value for the No. 1 pick. Unless they package it for an overpaid, not-quite-a-star type player (Otto Porter and Buddy Hield come to mind), it will be hard to massively screw up what the Wolves do with the top pick in a subpar draft.

So, Zach Buckley, here is your respectful disagreement. It really is the Challenge 1-A to the Challenge 1-B of Malik Beasley’s contract.