Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 reasons Patrick Beverley is a perfect fit
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly traded Juancho Hernangomez and Jarrett Culver to the Memphis Grizzlies for Patrick Beverley.
While we could argue about selling low on either player the Wolves are sending out, Beverley checks several boxes for the Wolves and fills a clear need at backup point guard.
Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 reasons Patrick Beverley is a perfect fit
Let’s take a look at three key reasons why the trade for Beverley appears to be a home run for the Timberwolves.
No. 1: Patrick Beverley brings on-ball defense and toughness to the Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves’ long-standing defensive issues have been well-documented.
At a high level, let’s take a look at the Wolves’ last seven finishes in team defensive rating, from 2020-21 to 2014-15: No. 28, No. 21, No. 24, No. 27, No. 27, No. 28, No. 30.
That’s right, the Wolves haven’t finished outside the bottom nine in defensive rating since 2013-14, way back when Rick Adelman was in charge. Even in the 2017-18 campaign with Tom Thibodeau at the helm and Jimmy Butler suiting up for 59 regular-season games, the Wolves finished No. 27 in defense en route to 47 wins.
While things certainly won’t change overnight, adding a defensive pest in Patrick Beverley is one massive step in the right direction.
Even at 33 years old, Beverley has the quickness to stay in front of opposing guards. He has the grit and the want-to to fight through screens and jump out to contest shots on the perimeter.
Beverley is effectively replacing Ricky Rubio at the backup point guard spot, weeks after Rubio was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers on a draft-night trade. While Rubio is an above-average team defender, his on-ball defense isn’t quite on par with Beverley’s. In a vacuum, Beverley is a superior defender.
Let’s look at just one example. Dating back to 2018-19, Beverley’s finishes in ESPN’s Defensive Real-Plus Minus metric among point guards are No. 20, No. 1, and No. 8. Rubio’s are No. 83, No. 9, and No. 15. Sure, there’s a bit of noise there (Rubio played for different teams each year, for one), but it’s clear that PatBev has been a better all-around defender.
Additionally, and this is admittedly more anecdotal, but when was the last time the Wolves had a player on the team who played with an edge the way that Beverley does? James Johnson? Sure, that was a blissful 14 games. J.J. Barea? Yeah, in his own way.
It’ll be a breath of fresh air to have a player (or two, depending on how much run two-way big man Nathan Knight gets) who will stick up for his teammates and not back down from anyone. That mentality matters, and if the Wolves want to get into the playoffs and make some noise, they needed a player like Beverley.
Okay, let’s look at the offensive side of the ball.