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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
ESPN Expert Crowns Wolves as 1st Round NBA Draft Winner
Last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves made their mark on the NBA Draft by trading up for Kentucky Wildcats guard Rob Dillingham. Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly was taking calls to move up or down from the 17th overall pick this cycle, but it never came to fruition. Instead, the Timberwolves ultimately stayed put, just outside the draft lottery, and selected French 7-footer, Joan Beringer. Minnesota hopes that fellow countryman Rudy Gobert can help ease Beringer's transition to pro basketball in America. Advertisement The new 18-year-old big man just learned how to speak English recently, a language that reportedly took him only 7 months to figure out. Much like Rudy, Beringer is known for his shot-blocking and defensive abilities. He can also run and stretch the floor in a way Gobert cannot. Related Headlines Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The 2025 NBA Draft is not over yet. This is the second-straight offseason that the NBA Draft has been split into two days and the Minnesota Timberwolves happen to hold the first overall selection in tonight's second round, a pick GM Matt Lloyd thinks they will get future 1st round offers for throughout the day. Advertisement Joan Beringer draws glowing praise for Minnesota Timberwolves But let's stay focused on Minnesota's 2025 first round pick, because the Timberwolves are receiving a lot of praise Thursday morning for the Joan Beringer selection. Most NBA Draft pundits see Beringer as a cinch NBA talent, once he gets a couple years to grow into his potential. But one draft expert, Jeremy Woo (ESPN), even tagged the Wolves as Wednesday night's biggest non-lottery winner, noting 'it's hard to find centers with his caliber of physical traits who can also run the floor and protect the rim'. Joan Beringer to the Timberwolves at No. 17. I'm high on Beringer's long-term outlook — it's hard to find centers with his caliber of physical traits who can also run the floor and protect the rim. His age and relative inexperience leave a ton of room for him to improve. Getting to develop behind another Frenchman in Rudy Gobert, who could be a valuable mentor as Beringer makes a major leap to the NBA level, could be an ideal situation to help him tap into his significant ability. This might take some time to pay off, but as Minnesota continues to try to build a winner with Anthony Edwards, landing a talent of this caliber and also addressing a long-term need could be a real coup. Jeremy Woo – ESPN At just 18 years old, Beringer is a late basketball bloomer, having only played the game for four years of his life, to this point. Last year, he played his first professional season, as a member of Cedevita Olimpija (Slovenia). Advertisement Without a doubt, the Minnesota Timberwolves grabbed one of the biggest risers during the draft process and one of the highest-ceiling big man talents available in 2025. Related: Lore, A-Rod Re-Up on Threat to Privately Fund New Timberwolves Arena It's possible that a couple short years from now, Beringer develops into the perfect replacement for Rudy Gobert, except he won't require the same trade haul that the MN Timberwolves sent to the Utah Jazz a few years ago. The draft board appeared to be falling in the Minnesota Timberwolves favor for much of the first round. That was until the Khaman Maluach slide ended, and Georgetown's Thomas Sorber — who the Wolves were connected to throughout the pre-draft process — went two picks earlier (15th) to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Advertisement But if the teenage Joan Beringer is their consolation prize, then the Timberwolves have to feel pretty good about how the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft went down. Now, it's time to have another good night in round two. Related Headlines
CBS News
27-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Timberwolves trade down twice in quiet 2nd round for Northwest, after getting Beringer in 1st
The Minnesota Timberwolves had the first pick in the second round of the NBA draft, fully prepared to field multiple offers for the 31st overall selection. After keeping their first-rounder at No. 17 for Joan Beringer, the 6-foot-11 shot-blocking project from France, the Timberwolves couldn't resist the trade calls on Thursday night. That 31st pick went to the Phoenix Suns in a proposed swap that gave them No. 36, which was then sent to the Los Angeles Lakers in a separate trade agreement that landed them at 45th overall. There, in a spot originally belonging to the Chicago Bulls, the Timberwolves wound up with another international big man, the 7-foot-2 Rocco Zikarsky from Australia. For a team in win-now mode that has made consecutive Western Conference finals, even Minnesota's first-rounder was bound to be an exercise in player development, especially with an 18-year-old in Beringer who only began playing basketball at age 14. But even while draft picks outside of the lottery range rarely make an immediate impact in the NBA these days, the second round has become more valuable under the recently altered luxury tax rules. The Wolves played this season above the second apron with the second-highest payroll in the league, resulting in a stiff tax bill and other transactional limitations, and simply need rostered players who count little against the cap. "The team-building rules are restricted a little bit," general manager Matt Lloyd said late Wednesday after Beringer was drafted. "We have to get our draft picks right, and then we have to be a part of player development." That's where 2024 draft picks Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon were focused this season, rarely cracking coach Chris Finch's eight-man rotation. But Shannon showed enough improvement and value on both ends of the floor that he began to get meaningful minutes during the playoffs. Beringer will be in that same mode next season, when the Wolves will lean on center Rudy Gobert, a fellow Frenchman, to ease him into the NBA and provide an ideal example of how to effectively protect the paint. After arranging a private workout with Beringer last weekend, the Wolves were sold on his character, potential and skills enough to stick at No. 17 to pick him. "He's like a ball of clay. He was the third-youngest player in the draft. He plays an incredibly vital role in the league right now. His basket-protection is incredible," Lloyd said. "What really kind of helped us solidify the final evaluation is just getting to meet him. He's a very serious person. He's very dedicated. He's very focused. He learned English in the last seven months."
New York Times
26-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Rudy Gobert 2.0? Timberwolves take French big man Joan Beringer at No. 17
MINNEAPOLIS — Joan Beringer is a native of France, a long-armed, lanky center who projects as a rim-running big in the NBA, a staunch rim protector and a demon on the offensive glass. Sound familiar? The Timberwolves took Beringer with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night. When the 18-year-old arrives in Minnesota, fellow countryman Rudy Gobert will be there waiting to mentor him. Advertisement 'Amazing,' Beringer said. 'I'm very happy, also to play with Rudy Gobert. It's an amazing feeling. I'm very happy.' The Timberwolves were equally enthusiastic about the pairing. General manager Matt Lloyd said a contingent of team officials flew to Chicago last weekend for a last-minute, private workout with Beringer to solidify their evaluation. Once they were finished and met with him in person, they came out of it believing he was the player they wanted to be there at No. 17. 'Joan is one of those rare cases where the best player available also had a fit,' Lloyd said. 'And we were sweating it. … It was a long night of waiting.' Beringer will not turn 19 until November and didn't start playing basketball until he was 14. He is a raw prospect who will need time to develop, much like Gobert was when he came over from France in 2013 after being selected 27th overall by the Utah Jazz. However, the plan is for him to join the team at summer league in Las Vegas next month and be on the roster when the season opens in October. He will not be a draft-and-stash player, Lloyd said. At 6 foot 11, Beringer is not quite as big as the 7-2 Gobert, but The Athletic's draft analyst Sam Vecenie describes him as a 'terrific athlete who moves fluidly' and 'gets off the ground quickly as a leaper.' He was ranked as the 13th-best player on Vecenie's board. He averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 57 games for KK Cedevita Olimpija in Slovenia last season, his first season as a pro. 'There has not been a more rapid ascent from a single player in this class,' Vecenie wrote. 'A meteoric rise.' Among his strengths, per Vecenie: Areas for improvement: 'If I had to bet on his intangibles, I would. A-plus,' Lloyd said. 'His tools are an A-plus. Everything else will come with getting experience, gaining experience.' The Wolves selected Beringer ahead of players such as Florida guard Walter Clayton, Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakučionis and Michigan big man Danny Wolf. They entered the draft with a priority on landing a developmental big man, as Gobert turns 33 on Friday and has no true center in the pipeline who projects as a rotation-level player. Advertisement Now the Wolves have developmental players at every position, including Rob Dillingham at point guard, Jaylen Clark at off guard, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Josh Minott on the wing and Leonard Miller at power forward. Beringer was euphoric about his fortune in landing on a team with a player who knows exactly what it's like to come to the United States from France at a young age and try to find his way. Gobert will be there to help him through the growing pains on the court and the acclimation process off of it. 'He's the best defender (in) the world,' Beringer said of Gobert. 'I'm a defender like him. Just to have a chance to learn from him is amazing.' Lloyd said he saw similarities in personality between Beringer and Gobert, two serious-minded players with strong work ethics. Contrary to Gobert, Lloyd sees a player capable of stepping out and knocking down a 15-foot jump shot. Patience will be required with a player so young, both in terms of age and experience. However, the Wolves see someone who can be molded over the long haul. The Wolves also have the 31st pick, at the top of the second round, on Thursday. The fact that the Wolves were drafting in the first round on Wednesday night was further indication that the panic over the picks the Wolves gave up in the Gobert trade was a little overblown. Three years ago, when president of basketball operations Tim Connelly traded for Gobert, there was outcry that they had sacrificed their future by sending four first-round draft picks (2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029) and a pick swap in 2026 to the Jazz as part of the package to get him. However, Connelly has been able to create opportunities to compensate for the lost capital. He selected Clark in the second round in 2023, and he has emerged as a rotation-level player, a valuable pick since the Wolves did not have a first-round selection that season. Advertisement Last year, Connelly grabbed Shannon at No. 27 and also traded into the top 10 to get Dillingham at No. 8. He then got a protected first-rounder for this season in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, and with a bit of luck from the Detroit Pistons making the playoffs, got No. 17 in this year's draft. So, in the three drafts since he allegedly flushed the future down the toilet by sending all those picks out, Connelly has added a rotation player in the second round and three first-round picks. 'Any sort of assertion that we don't have assets is incorrect, and we're going to see it in summer league,' Lloyd said. Meanwhile, Gobert was named the 2024 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and has been a major part of back-to-back runs to the Western Conference finals. 'I think his willingness to get into the draft and be aggressive, Tim that is, works in our favor,' Lloyd said. 'Because more likely than not, we're going to pick the right guy and we're going to place him in the player development program. And that's not like a subtle brag or anything, that's just the record. We're going to put him in the player development program that's produced Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, and we should get a good result.' As has been exhaustively reported, the Wolves were in on talks for Kevin Durant before he was traded to the Houston Rockets last week. That signaled a willingness to be aggressive and chase a star player to pair with Anthony Edwards. According to team sources, the Wolves withdrew from those conversations when they got word that Durant did not want to come to Minnesota, meaning that reports of an offer of Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, Rob Dillingham or Terrence Shannon Jr. and the 17th pick were inaccurate. The Wolves were never going to pay that much for a 37-year-old entering the last year of his deal, even though they knew Durant would be a perfect fit next to Edwards, because everyone in the league knew that Phoenix had to trade him. Advertisement When Durant went to the Rockets, the immediate assumption was that the Wolves would remain aggressive in pursuit of another big name. There was anticipation in the fan base coming into Wednesday night that Connelly would pull off another stunner of a deal to get an established stud, perhaps by dangling the No. 17 pick as part of a package. However, all indications are that, after the Durant dream died, there wasn't much out there in terms of big swings to take. Lloyd said Connelly was on the phone all day looking for deals, but when Beringer was there, they couldn't pass him up. 'We tried to move up, move down, move back, move forward and sideways,' Lloyd said. 'It just fell to where the guy we wanted was there.' As Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez take over in earnest, they have put forth a message of long-term sustainability as the priority. Other new ownership groups have liked to make big splashes right away. Still, the Wolves have already made several significant moves since Lore and Rodriguez came aboard as limited partners in 2021. Connelly was hired away from Denver, trades were made for Gobert, Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Julius Randle and DiVincenzo. 'We don't feel the need to, like, make any big changes,' Lore told The Athletic. 'It's continuing to keep continuity and then look to get better in the same way that we have been over the last few years.' Connelly has been as active as any front office leader in his three previous draft nights, and the lack of a move for a veteran on Wednesday night does not preclude them from making a trade later. The Wolves will fall below the second apron once the new league year begins in July, which will give them a little bit more flexibility to execute trades. However, much of their focus in the coming days will be on clarifying the situations of three important rotation pieces. Randle and Naz Reid have player options for next season, but could become free agents. Reid has already said he will opt out and become a free agent, but the Wolves remain confident that they can reach a deal to keep him in Minnesota, sources said. Advertisement For Randle, it remains unclear what route he will take. He could opt into the last year of his contract for $31 million. He could opt out and become a free agent, but it is unlikely he would get anywhere close to that on the open market. Or, he could reach a multiyear deal to stay with the Wolves, likely at an annual number a little smaller, but with some long-term security, similarly to what Gobert did before last season. Alexander-Walker is the other Wolves vet up in the air. He is a free agent but is expected to get an offer elsewhere that will price him out of Minnesota. (Photo of Joan Beringer: Jeff Haynes / NBAE via Getty Images)
