The Minnesota Timberwolves are acquiring Patrick Beverley in a trade that sends Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez to the Memphis Grizzlies, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Memphis Grizzlies are trading Patrick Beverley to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 17, 2021
The Minnesota Timberwolves added a high-level rotational piece with Patrick Beverley, who played about half the season for the Clippers last season due to lingering injuries.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Patrick Beverley acquired from Memphis in exchange for Jarrett Culver, Juancho Hernangomez
Beverley, who turned 33-years-old in July, is a defense-first point guard that brings high-intensity leadership and 3-point shooting. He is the ultimate definition of a 3-and-D guard – something the Timberwolves did not have prior to this trade.
Patrick Beverley also gives the Timberwolves a backup point guard. Following the Ricky Rubio trade, their options in this regard were slim to none. Finding a quality backup for the price which they did is a solid value.
This past season, Beverley averaged eight points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal per game on shooting splits of 42/40/80. It is important to note that the majority of Beverley’s shots came from beyond the 3-point line.
Beverley has one year left on his contract worth $14.4 million, according to Spotrac. Culver and Hernangomez combined to make slightly more than $12 million this coming season.
Prior to the NBA Draft that took place in late July, there were rumored discussions about Culver possibly being traded. In combination with Hernangomez, those discussions apparently came to fruition today.
In Culver and Hernangomez, the Timberwolves lose a bit of potential, although both seem to be recovering from injury. Culver isn’t exactly a ceiling-raiser, but he fits into the developmental mindset that the Grizzlies have had the past few seasons – since they selected Josh Jackson in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The Timberwolves rotation is starting to shape together for this coming season. Including only signed players (not McLaughlin/Vanderbilt), it looks like Russell-Beasley-Edwards-McDaniels-Towns will be the starters with Beverley-Nowell-Okogie-Prince-Reid coming off of the bench.