Seemingly out of nowhere, Gersson Rosas has made a trade, and one that I would argue is quite a good deal for the Timberwolves.
Minnesota has traded Juancho Hernangomez and Jarrett Culver to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the recently acquired Patrick Beverley.
The Memphis Grizzlies are trading Patrick Beverley to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 17, 2021
To put it lightly, Beverley is the kind of guy you hate when you play against him, but I have no doubt we’ll love him in Minnesota. He brings elite point-of-attack defense, and is a capable spot-up shooter, making 38.7% of his career three-point attempts as well as 39.7% last season. He’s not a movement shooting weapon by any means, as most of his attempts are uncontested stand-still spot-ups, but having a player who can both make those shots at a high clip and guard at the other end is something that Minnesota has not had much of over the past several years.
One other underrated aspect of Beverley’s game is that he’s a very good rebounder for a guard, averaging around 4.5-5.0 rebounds a game for the past several seasons. He’ll help the Wolves on the perimeter defensively and can be an asset in closing out possessions as well.
Needless to say, the Beverley addition is a very, very good one for Minnesota when considering what the roster so desperately needed.
Beverley is also a good pairing for D’Angelo Russell in general, as I would expect the two will be able to spend a good amount of time on the court together. Beverley has shown a willingness to both bring the ball up and play off the ball, which is a cleaner fit next to Russell than Ricky Rubio was.
Of course, every transaction comes at a cost, and while it’s disappointing the way Jarrett Culver’s tenure here played out, I think this move is best for both sides. It became clear that Culver wasn’t going to find his groove in Minnesota, and he now gets a chance to revive his career in Memphis.
Dumping Juancho Hernangomez in the deal is an added bonus for the Wolves, as he disappointed last year and didn’t figure to be in the future plans of the organization any longer.
The Wolves cut bait on two distressed assets, and were able to get a player that will help them win next season for their troubles. Beverley isn’t going to be confused for an All-Star, of course, but he’s a solid pick-up for this team.
We’d been waiting for the front office to shuffle the deck a bit to help the team compete for a playoff spot, and this is the type of move on the margins that should do just that.