There have been numerous reports in the offseason about the Minnesota Timberwolves seeing Joan Beringer as someone who is pretty much untouchable. That’s despite him not getting all that much playing time as a rookie.
Entering the offseason, it seemed like it would be important to do some roster manuervering that would ensure him more playing time for next season. That would require a trade of one of their frontcourt pieces, and that occurred on Monday when Julius Randle was shipped to the Brooklyn Nets.
As of now, Beringer looks to be the first big man off the bench. A big season from him could lead to further changes next offseason, likely involving Rudy Gobert.
Beringer is primed for larger role
When the Timberwolves selected Beringer with the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the expectations were that he wouldn’t play a ton of minutes from the get-go. He turned just 19 early on in the 2025-26 season, and the Frenchman didn’t even have all that much experience playing the sport.
The near 7-footer is brimming with potential, though, and is still believed to be an eventual Rudy Gobert successor as the Wolves' starting center. As long as Gobert remains on the team in 2026-27, Beringer will come off the bench. If Beringer shows further growth with more playing time, it leaves Minnesota with an interesting decision for the following year.
Gobert, who will be 35 years old during the 2027-28 season has a $38 million player option for that year. Just like they shed Randle’s salary on Monday, perhaps they do likewise with Gobert next offseason. He’s still one of the elite rim protectors in the league and hasn’t shown much slowing down on the defensive side yet. If Beringer can show he’s ready for an even larger role after next year, though, Gobert could become a valuable expiring contract (if he opts in).
It’s hard to say Beringer is ready for a full-time starting role right now. He played just 314 total minutes last season, but in that brief time, he did average 17.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per 36 minutes. You would like to see Beringer not try to block nearly everything, as the majority of his fouls were shooting ones, and he averaged 5.4 fouls per 36.
If he doesn’t prove to be ready to be that full-time starting center, it doesn’t mean that Beringer should be given up on. He won’t be old enough to buy a legal drink for about another 17 months. Still, it makes it likely that Gobert will stick around.
I’m personally excited that in all likelihood, we will see more of the athletic big.
