Major Trades Done, Wolves Turn Focus to Power Forward, Shooting

The Timberwolves aren't done building the roster after dealing Julius Randle and Naz Reid in a multi-team trade that will bring LaMelo Ball to Minnesota.

If the season began today, the projected starting five for the Wolves would likely feature Anthony Edwards, Ball, and Ayo Dosunmu in a three-guard backcourt, with Jaden McDaniels playing the four and Rudy Gobert manning the paint at center.

While Ball is the solution to their point guard problem, getting him created a hole at power forward.

"They do not have a traditional power forward on the roster, and league sources say the Wolves are looking at several options for help at the four," says Jon Krawczynski in a report via The Athletic. "They are also in the market to add more shooting around Ball and Edwards. The work continues, but the magnitude of the Ball trade means that the major deals are done now."

If they truly are done splashing, then it's a virtual lock that Gobert will return next season, ending any speculation that Minnesota might trade the four-time Defensive Player of the Year and hand the keys to the starting center job to 19-year-old Joan Beringer.

Tom Crean, who coached Anthony Edwards at Georgia and now works as a part-time analyst during Timberwolves television broadcasts, was raving about Beringer in an interview with KFAN's Dan Barreiro on Thursday.

"Come on, man. That kid is going to be so good. He's just scratching the surface," Crean said. There's a reason the rumors were out, and I didn't talk to anybody in the front office, but there's a reason there were reports made that he was untouchable. I mean, that kid is going to be so good."

Crean couldn't help but bring up Beringer's name for a second time near the end of the interview.

"That kid is going to be so good. Remember, he's not played basketball for very long. He can block shots; he can dunk. There's so much upside to him," Crean said. "I would be salivating at the mouth to work with that kid every day because of what he's capable of."

Minnesota has a solid history now of playing big lineups. They dethroned the Nuggets three years ago by pairing Gobert with Karl-Anthony Towns. In the past two seasons, they experimented with Gobert, Randle, and Reid on the floor together. Who's to doubt that head coach Chris Finch won't experiment with Gobert and Beringer together from time to time? It might be clunky unless Beringer has developed an outside shot that nobody is aware of, but if Minnesota needs to go big, it's an interesting possibility in a limited capacity.

Alas, Minnesota will need to find a traditional power forward, even if the master plan is to mimic the Spurs by starting McDaniels at the four, similar to how San Antonio has 6-foot-7 Julian Champagnie playing the four.

With Gobert off the table, the most logical trade candidate to land a quality power forward is Josh Green. His $14.67 million expiring contract is valuable, although trading him would take away some shooting since he has always knocked down about 40 percent of his threes, including 42 percent last season.

As it stands now, the Wolves have quite a bit of shooting with Ball, Edwards, Dosunmu, McDaniels, Green, TJ Shannon (40 percent from three last season), and perhaps rookie guard Isaiah Evans. They'll also likely have Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles) back by the end of the season.

If they keep Green and don't make a trade to find a power forward, then the best way to find a traditional four is through free agency, where the Wolves can use their $6 million midlevel exception. That won't get them someone as good as Rui Hachimura, but they could find a player capable of playing 15-20 minutes a night for that kind of money.

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