Reporting from The Athletic says that the Minnesota Timberwolves view Joan Beringer as "off limits" in trade talks, even for Giannis Antetokounmpo. That's a high bar for a player who barely saw the court as a rookie. Likewise, it sets the expectation that he'll play meaningful minutes next season.
With a Julius Randle trade feeling inevitable, that alone could open up minutes for Beringer. Nonetheless, it's worth wondering how this impacts Rudy Gobert's future.
Listen, I'm not saying they need to hand the keys of the frontcourt over to a raw 19-year-old center -- that would be super risky. Gobert averaged 31.3 minutes per game last year. If Beringer plays in every second of the non-Rudy minutes, he could play just 17 minutes a night.
But who knows if Chris Finch will trust him to play in all of the non-Gobert minutes? And while I think getting roughly 17 minutes a night would be a major step in the right direction if the organization values Beringer this much, could they want an even bigger role in year two? I don't think that's out of the question.
It's also worth wondering if Beringer getting slightly fewer minutes and learning from an all-time great defender would be more beneficial for his development, or if getting a stop-gap starting center and giving Beringer a bigger role would be better for his growth. Therein lies the dilemma Minnesota faces.
It's unclear what the best path to developing Joan Beringer is
For Beringer, there's clear value in learning a bit more from Gobert. He's an all-time great defender and a consummate professional. At the same time, Beringer needs minutes to develop. Again, it's not impossible for this to happen with Gobert.
However, trading for a center who plays a bit less than Gobert (while being able to upgrade other areas of the roster) could help Beringer and the Wolves.
Gobert, who turns 34 this month, has defied Father Time, but at some point that won't be the case.
On one hand, this could allow the Wolves to reduce his role and open up more minutes for Beringer. Conversely, it could behove them to rip the band-aid off, maximize Gobert's trade value and find a younger center option to complement Beringer long-term.
The possibility of trading both Randle and Gobert, one for a guard and one for a big man, is an intriguing one. Gobert provides immense defensive value, but the Wolves could benefit from a more offensively slanted big man and landing a guard would clearly benefit the team.
My ultimate point is that you don't view a player as completely off limits unless you have big plans for them. Perhaps it's still a long-term plan for the Wolves, but at some point, it's clear they think Beringer will be the team's starting center and it's tough to tell if trading Gobert this offseason would help or hurt his development toward this role.
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