I believe that Joan Beringer will be an impactful backup big man for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Furthermore, I believe that he has a ton of long-term upside and is the team's center of the future.
Amid all of this excitement from me, other fans, and the Wolves organization, it can't be forgotten that Beringer won't turn 20 until November. Equally as important, it must be considered that Beringer only started playing basketball in 2021. As such, growing pains are inevitable for Beringer in his second year.
Chris Finch and the coaching staff need to be prepared for this, and they need to practice patience. While Beringer will have some bumps along the way, the actualized version of him is a special player, and having a quality player on a rookie contract is a massive boon for a team with such a high payroll.
If he struggles early on, the Wolves can't lose sight of the greater goal.
Joan Beringer's second preseason game highlights that he's still raw
Minnesota's second preseason game is a perfect example of why the Wolves need to practice patience with Beringer. In 19 minutes of action, he recorded two points, eight rebounds, and a block. This stat line is fine in a vacuum, but there were some clear red flags. Most notably, on defense, Beringer was caught out of position several times, which led to easy opportunities at the rim for Indiana. In fact, during Beringer's first four minutes, the Pacers scored 11 points, shooting 5-for-7 from the field. Yikes.
Beringer is a gifted athlete, and he should provide a rim protection boost off the Wolves' bench. Still, whether it's positioning, as we saw on Wednesday, foul trouble, as we've seen in the past, or struggling to deal with physical big men, as we've also seen before, growing pains are to be expected.
Offensively, he struggled to make reads at the top of the key when the Wolves asked him to, and he couldn't find rhythm around the rim. It wasn't all bad, as he was active on the glass and set good screens (including this sick Gortat screen). Moreover, he was a standout in Monday's preseason game and has some real juice on offense.
Regardless, my major takeaway from Wednesday's game is that Beringer is raw.
He has flashed his immense upside in various games, but it's unrealistic to ask him to be perfect from the jump. The Wolves have to ride with the lows and stick with him when he inevitably struggles in the regular season. In the long run, this will pay off, and considering that Beringer is a quick learner, he could work through some of his issues as soon as the middle of this season.
The Timberwolves will need to stick with Beringer if and when he struggles
Now, the Wolves don't have much competition for Beringer off the bench, and my expectation is that he gets nearly all of the non-Rudy Gobert minutes. Giving Beringer a consistent 15-minute-per-game role can help him work through some of his struggles.
Trey Lyles is a natural power forward, but he is still an option to take minutes away from Beringer. Plus, given that Chris Finch typically doesn't favor young players and the Wolves have title hopes, I feel like it's worth pointing out that the team needs to practice patience with him.
There will surely be moments when Beringer struggles (especially early on). Nevertheless, Beringer's upside is undeniable, and if he works through some of his issues, he could be a high-quality backup as soon as this season.
The Timberwolves expressed a great deal of confidence in Beringer by not adding an established rotation big after trading Naz Reid and Julius Randle. To back up this confidence and maximize his upside, Finch will have to be patient with Beringer when he inevitably has a rough game or stretch.
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