Et tu, PatBev? Timberwolves Anthony Edwards leads NBA to Target Ctr
By Bret Stuter
Everything is a nail to a hammer
Minnesota Timberwolves know and appreciate the value of a no-nonsense firey trash-talking NBA point guard, and Patrick Beverley is acting president of that category of NBA player. After playing a long chapter with the Houston Rockets (five seasons) and with the LA Clippers (four seasons), he is about to compete for his fifth NBA team in two years:
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Utah Jazz (no games played before being traded)
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Chicago Bulls
- Philadelphia 76ers
While he was once a player who seemed to be a longer-term solution to fill a need on an NBA roster, it’s clear that once the Timberwolves traded him to the Utah Jazz as part of the package to acquire Jazz All-Star center Rudy Gobert, Beverley has become more of a roster rental. And from his lens on the world, every NBA player who is valued by the NBA is going to view the Minnesota Timberwolves as a team worthy of no more than a four to five-year chapter.
Timberwolves roster retooled around Anthony Edwards
Almost immediately upon his arrival, Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly retooled the Minnesota Timberwolves roster. While the first trade was a bit of a blockbuster, it was a necessary action to raise the stakes and the upside of the Timberwolves team’s trajectory.
What it did was transform a Timberwolves team that struggled just to make the NBA Playoffs, into a Timberwolves team that is expected to make and advance into the NBA Playoffs. While many are quick to point to the Timberwolves final record of 42-40 in the 2022-23 NBA season, they are quick to gloss over the fact that the Timberwolves only benefitted from 1/3rd of a season from Karl-Antony Towns and still competed in the NBA Playoffs.
The team that struggled to win anything, the team that veteran Patrick Beverley once played for. Now the team is much more competitive and is led by a tough-as-nails shooting guard Anthony Edwards. And the Minnesota Timberwolves truly recognize just how special Edwards is.
Truth be told, it’s only now that the NBA, and the world at large, are starting to realize what the Timberwolves have known all along.