In a summer of many changes, the Minnesota Timberwolves have moved in a very clear direction. With the departures of Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the franchise has chosen to free up the frontcourt to lean toward players with a more perimeter-oriented profile, such as LaMelo Ball or Jonathan Kuminga, leaving a hole in the paint that someone will have to fill. Yet the front office already knows who should take that step forward.
“What gives us the most confidence is that when he logged minutes last year, and he could have earned more if the roster had been designed differently, he almost always delivered,” Finch said, praising the French player’s role in an interview with Britt Robson, a reporter for MinnPost. “When things didn’t go as well, I gave him too much responsibility, such as when he had to start.”
“But we must be aware that young players will always show a certain degree of irregularity. The key is to distinguish whether that irregularity is self-imposed or a result of the player learning, and with Joan I think what we’re going to see is the latter. He always competes at the highest level and brings a lot of balance and energy, and now he has to figure out how to sustain the effort while tempering his desire to do everything all the time.”
Additionally, Finch is aware of the flaws Beringer must refine, though he admitted that they are, in a sense, the best problems a young player can have: fouls, ending up on the floor all the time, and the fact that sometimes he drifts out of position because he is too aggressive. But it’s much better to have to teach someone to rein in than to be constantly urging him to stay active.
Now it is Beringer’s turn, likely through trial and error, to complete the step his coach believes in and that his teammates so desperately need. Because in a roster where Gobert is his only frontcourt partner at the center position and there isn’t a single natural 3/4 forward, they cannot afford for him to return to being the 15th man in the rotation.
