The Phoenix Suns have been rumored to buyout Bradley Beal’s contract, ending an anti-climatic tenure out west for the veteran guard. If he does, several teams have already been linked to trying to land the once prolific scorer. But there’s one dark horse team that hasn’t circulated as a landing spot for Beal.
If there’s one thing the Minnesota Timberwolves learned about their latest playoff exit, it’s that they need scoring weapons; enter Beal. This could be a move that either catapults this team to the NBA Finals or once again hinders them from competing for an NBA championship. Either way, the Timberwolves didn’t land Kevin Durant and just re-signed Naz Reid. They need to bring in another scorer to help their budding superstar, Anthony Edwards.
Beal has to be the risk worth taking. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t put you any further back than they’ve been each of the last two seasons.
Why Bradley Beal to the Minnesota Timberwolves is a risk worth taking
The Timberwolves can’t take their current roster into next season with the hopes of being a playoff force. The Houston Rockets just became championship contenders on paper with the addition of Durant; Oklahoma City Thunder should have no problems returning to the Finals, barring any major injuries; and the rest of the West is a gauntlet.
Minnesota probably isn’t even the fifth best team in the Western conference and the NBA’s offseason just started. With Beal, it doesn’t automatically make them contenders, but it strengthens their shot at going on a deep playoff run. The Thunder showed the best way to take Minnesota out of the game is to force everyone else on the court to score.
With Beal as another scoring option, that should alleviate some pressure on Edwards to have to do it all. Beal probably won’t like coming off the bench, but he did it in Phoenix so doing it again in Minnesota shouldn’t be a huge ask. And maybe if the Timberwolves want to be more offensive, they can insert him in the lineup and bench Jaden McDaniels.
This could very well blow up though. After Beal landed in Phoenix, he wasn’t close to what they paid him to be, that’s largely why their point guard-less experiment failed and why they’re likely to buy him out and move on from him.
Minnesota could have that same fate where they make this “big splash” move and nothing comes of it. The difference in them making that move versus the Suns is when Phoenix brought him in, they expected a larger role.
With the Timberwolves, he’s simply a role player that can score when they need it, but doesn’t have to be the focal point of the offense. That’s what Edwards and Reid are there for. Beal is just the perfect complement to give them another scoring option when they need it.