With the trade deadline behind them, the Minnesota Timberwolves are ready to look to the future. They made it clear that they see a brighter path ahead without D’Angelo Russell, dealing the 26-year old point guard and replacing him with a more mature on-court leader in Mike Conley.
As they prepare for the rest of the season, Minnesota will no longer be able to make any trades until the offseason, but they will still be searching for ways to improve. One rumor that has been floated by Timberwolves fans since the offseason is the idea of Patrick Beverley making a return to the Twin Cities, where he was so beloved last season.
After spending the first half of the season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Beverley was included in the team’s trade with the Magic to acquire Mo Bamba. With Orlando not in need of a veteran guard like Pat Bev on their roster, he is likely to hit the buyout market. According to Dane Moore, the Timberwolves intend to pursue him.
Sources: A Patrick Beverley reunion in Minnesota is in the works, via the buyout market. Multiple teams are interested in Beverley for a playoff push.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) February 9, 2023
Patrick Beverley is likely to become a buyout candidate
While Patrick Beverley is not the top name in the NBA free agency world, there is no doubt he will still garner interest from multiple teams. His ability as an on-ball defender combined with his ability to be a vocal leader and strong locker room presence mean he could be valuable for a lot of teams in playoff contention.
If Moore’s report is correct, the Timberwolves could already be close to making the reunion with Pat Bev a reality. When Beverley was traded to the Jazz and then the Lakers last August, fans had already begun contemplating how he could make a theoretical return to Minnesota. Since the Timberwolves traded Beverley away in the offseason, there were a few specific things that had to take place for him to make a return to his former team.
Per the NBA’s rules, the Lakers would first have to trade Beverley. Second, his new team would have to buy him out. One of those things has already happened, and it appears we could be on the doorstep of the other taking place as well.
The stars seem to be aligning for a former Timberwolves fan favorite to make a return. If Minnesota does bring him back on board, they will have to waive another player to open up a roster spot. Luka Garza and Matt Ryan are not able to be waived since they occupy two-way contracts, so the team would likely convert a standard player’s contract to a two-way in order to waive one of these two.