Timberwolves cram backcourt by bringing back Malik Beasley

The Minnesota Timberwolves are bringing back Malik Beasley.

With as crowded as the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ backcourt got after the 2020 NBA Draft, it was reasonable to wonder whether Malik Beasley would be back with the team as a restricted free agency. On Friday, the Wolves proved they wouldn’t hesitating to bring back yet another young, talented guard in free agency.

Despite having D’Angelo Russell, drafting Anthony Edwards No. 1 overall, drafting Leandro Bolmaro later in the first round and trading for Ricky Rubio, the Wolves are paying up to keep Beasley in the frozen tundra.

As reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the fifth-year shooting guard has agreed to a three-year, $60 million extension.

Logjam be damned, the Timberwolves wanted to keep Malik Beasley

While there aren’t going to be many minutes to go around in this crowded backcourt, the Wolves are wisely investing in young talent — especially after Beasley thrived in an expanded role following his trade to Minnesota last season.

Though it was a small, 14-game sample size, Beasley was lights out for the Wolves after the Denver Nuggets dumped him there in a four-team trade involving Robert Covington and Clint Capela. The 23-year-old posted 20.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in 33.1 minutes per game (all of which would’ve been career highs) while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from 3-point range on a whopping 8.2 attempts per game.

This kind of deal suggests the Wolves are interested in his long-term prospects after such an impression opening audition, even if they have a lot of pieces that will be fighting for minutes at the same positions. Only time will tell if Beasley can live up to this significant investment, but as he showed in the first starting role of his NBA career, he may be up to that challenge.