Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the Starting Five

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MARCH 31: RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks defends against Malik Beasley #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Shooting Guard: Malik Beasley

Malik Beasley, despite missing about half of the season last year, was still the Timberwolves most consistent outside scorer. In 37 games played, Beasley averaged 20 points, four rebounds, and two assists per game on shooting splits of 44/40/85.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the starting five

The reason why Beasley did not play many games last season was because of both a suspension and an injury. That said, his skillset is extremely valuable across the NBA (movement shooting, offense from the wing), and that will be greatly utilized alongside playmakers such as D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Timberwolves almost never had Malik Beasley, D’Angelo Russell, and Karl-Anthony Towns healthy at the same time last year – so seeing the three for an extended period of time (hopefully over a full season) will be great – especially after a full offseason with head coach Chris Finch.

Malik Beasley is the most likely piece of the core Timberwolves players to get traded. With his off-the-court issues and positional overlapping with Anthony Edwards (and others on the roster), it would not be shocking to see Beasley get traded during or before the season (and especially at the trade deadline). That said, his role as a 40-percent 3-point shooter cannot be undersold – and his value with almost certainly never decline because of that reason.

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