The Minnesota Timberwolves invoked a lot of feelings when they reportedly agreed to a trade with the Charlotte Hornets on a trade to acquire LaMelo Ball on Thursday morning. Ball is the secondary scoring source that should be able to take pressure off Anthony Edwards. But he also comes at the cost of fan-favorite Naz Reid, which makes Wolves fans wonder what exactly president of basketball operations Tim Connelly is doing.
The answer might lie in Joan Beringer. The 17th overall pick in the 2025 draft, Beringer had a strong rookie season, even in a limited sample size of 7.9 minutes per game. But he flashed during those limited minutes and already caught the attention of general manager Matt Lloyd.
“Oh boy, here we go,” Lloyd began via Timberwolves podcaster Dane Moore. “I think one of my favorite moments thus far of the offseason is we had a pickup game in here about a week ago…and he got a defensive rebound. He dribbled the length of the floor, changed [the direction of] his dribble twice, and finished over the top of another player.
“...And we talked about his ability to learn and adapt very quickly. He’s a quick learner. We’re still very, very high on Joan. …But his progression since he got here…he’s put the work in to elicit a positive outcome because that’s who he is. So, we’re still very, very high on him. We saw that in short segments last year, especially at the end of the season when he got some playing time, his ability to produce and the expectation is that continues [during the Vegas Summer League.]”
Timberwolves trade could help fuel Joan Beringer’s sophomore surge
Beringer was always going to be an interesting player to follow during the offseason, especially as the Timberwolves plan to play him in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas next month. But Thursday’s trade puts an even bigger spotlight on the Frenchman as he’ll have a chance to build off his success from his rookie year.
The overall stats don’t look great as Beringer averaged 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds over 40 games. But his averages per 36 minutes show what he can do, averaging 17.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and three blocks. While there are some things to work on, including his 5.4 personal fouls per 36 minutes, the foundation is there and it was a conclusion that he would see the court more next season.
The thing is that Wolves fans just didn’t expect him to be a potential starter. Reid was reportedly set to assume the starting job at power forward before the trade. Still, it was unclear if he would be consistent enough to scale up to a bigger role and trading him as the centerpiece of a deal for Ball is a wise move.
The Wolves may not be done dealing and it could include a move that pushes Beringer back to the bench. But without Randle and now Reid, he should earn a bigger role. Without a doubt, the Wolves are excited about what they have and it could help the Frenchman take a big step forward next season.
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