The Timberwolves Are Protecting Joan Beringer in Giannis Talks. That Tells You Everything.
The Timberwolves are doing something fascinating in their Giannis Antetokounmpo trade conversations. They are protecting Joan Beringer.
According to The Athletic, Minnesota has placed Jaden McDaniels and Beringer on its untouchable list alongside Anthony Edwards. McDaniels makes obvious sense. He is an All-Defensive caliber wing who fits everything Edwards needs around him. Beringer is the surprising one.
Beringer played 40 games as a rookie this past season. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds. He looked raw. He is a 6’11” French big man who turned 19 during the season. By traditional measures, he is the kind of player who gets thrown into a Giannis offer without anyone blinking.
The Timberwolves do not see it that way.
The front office in Minnesota has been studying Beringer’s tape since draft night. They love the size. They love the mobility. They love the defensive instincts. They love the fact that he has not played organized basketball for very long, which means the upside curve has barely started. He is a long term project who fits the developmental track that has worked for the Wolves before.
It is also worth remembering that Giannis Antetokounmpo himself was the same kind of player when the Bucks drafted him in 2013. Giannis came into the league as a stick figure with footwork that needed years of development. Nobody could have predicted he would become a generational franchise pillar. Beringer is not Giannis. But the comparison is the exact reason Minnesota refuses to give him up for the real thing.
This is the part of NBA trade strategy that gets overlooked. Front offices are not just evaluating Giannis. They are evaluating what their roster looks like after Giannis turns 33, 34, and 35. The Bucks are asking for a massive package because the player is the best in the world right now. The teams negotiating with Milwaukee have to balance the urgency of a championship window against the cost of giving up the next decade of cap flexibility.
If Minnesota gives up Beringer and McDaniels in the same trade, the entire bench is gutted. The Wolves would have Edwards, Giannis, and a roster of veterans on team friendly deals. That sounds great for one playoff run. It is brutal for the four years that follow when Giannis’s contract gets harder to move and Edwards is asking for an extension.
Front offices are starting to think this way more aggressively. Milwaukee has set a baseline that several rival executives consider unreasonable. The Bucks reportedly want at least three first round picks, a young All-Star caliber starter, and at least one developmental piece. That is a haul, and almost no contender has the flexibility to meet it.
The Wolves might be the rare team that does have the assets to get close. Minnesota’s pick situation is healthier than people realize. The young player pool is solid. They have a real star in Edwards who can attract the kind of cap room and depth that makes future deals work.
By drawing a line in the sand on Beringer, the Timberwolves are saying they want this trade more on their terms than on Milwaukee’s. They are showing patience that other contenders cannot afford. And they are betting that Giannis Antetokounmpo will eventually want out of Milwaukee badly enough to lower the price.
Joan Beringer might be the most important name in this entire trade saga. The Wolves believe it. The rest of the league should start paying attention.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
