Not many could have predicted the impact that Patrick Beverley would have on the Minnesota Timberwolves when they traded for him in mid-August of 2021. At the time, most people viewed Beverley as a solid veteran guard on Minnesota’s bench and an opportunity to offload Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangómez. On the other hand, others viewed the trade as a loss for the Wolves because they were letting go of the forward they drafted sixth overall in 2019.
However, Beverley turned into one of the biggest fan favorites in recent memory. During the 2021-22 season, the Target Center stands were filled with “I ❤️ Pat Bev” t-shirts and various No. 22 jerseys – most of which had duck tape over the previous name and “BEVERLEY” scribbled in permanent marker.
Beverley was one of the driving forces that led the Timberwolves to their second playoff berth in 18 years. The heart Pat Bev played with every night made him special, something Minnesota has lacked since the Kevin Garnett days. Therefore, when the Wolves dealt Beverley to the Utah Jazz in the Rudy Gobert trade, fans were both shocked and a little disappointed. The Wolves flipped the guy who completely flipped their culture.
Many Minnesota fans have been wishing for Beverley’s return since they moved him in mid-July. Fans had some hope at the trade deadline when the Los Angeles Lakers traded Pat Bev to the Orlando Magic, who bought him out. However, Beverley landed with the Chicago Bulls and put on a show for his hometown.
Beverley now faces the free-agent market for the second time in three months.
“I get to get some more paper, Rone,” said Beverley on his podcast this off-season. “Unrestricted free agent, hopefully, we’ll see what happens with the Bulls. But, there’s a lot of people out there that might want that Pat Bev juice for their team. I’m going to be a little richer.”
Here we are again. If you check the comments on that Instagram post, you’ll see that plenty of Wolves fans are hoping they see Mr. 94 Feet return next season. However, the Timberwolves will face implications when looking at a potential Pat Bev reunion.
Beverley was on a one-year, $13 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers before they traded him to Magic, who waived him. Beverley then signed with the Bulls on an $800,000 deal for the remainder of the season – far less than he had made per year throughout his career.
Given that Beverley is 34 and made $800,000 on his last contract, could Minnesota get him for the veteran’s minimum? It’s unlikely. Pat Bev doesn’t feel he should get anything less than what he was making last season.
“My game hasn’t dropped, so I don’t think the number that I made this year should drop,” Beverley said on his podcast. “I’m at $13 [million], but the money does go up, so my 13 this year would become 15 next year.”
Pat Bev has never lacked confidence in his tenured NBA career, and when you’ve been a winner with every team you’ve been a part of, asking for around $13-15 million shouldn’t be too outlandish. However, Beverley could price himself out of Minnesota. It will be hard for Tim Connelly to come up with enough cap space for Beverley to be willing to head back up to the freezing cold winters.
This summer, Connelly and Co. hope to lock up Naz Reid, Anthony Edwards, and Jaden McDaniels for many years to come. The Wolves have been operating as a luxury team in the immediate future, which as a mid-market franchise that’s got over $300 million tied up in their frontcourt, isn’t very surprising.
Minnesota currently has around $12 million in cap space to spend on the free-agent market, along with trade two trade exceptions ranging from $3.6 million to $4.3 million. There are some obvious holes in the team’s current roster. Two of their biggest needs are a backup point guard and some reliable three-point shooting off the bench. While Beverley would address one of those needs, he may also be taking away from Nickeil Alexander-Walker who blossomed as a solid point guard off Minnesota’s bench.
We were only able to see Alexander-Walker in 28 total games last season. However, the impact he brings on both sides of the ball was immediately apparent.
“He’s been fantastic,” Connelly said in regard to NAW’s unexpected immediate impact. “I’d be lying to you if I thought Nickeil was going to start playoff games, he did a great job. We’d love to have Nickeil here for a long time. I thought his defensive versatility and toughness was a great addition to our team. Hats off to him, hats off to Finchy for giving him some rope and letting him play into a really impactful role.”
On top of NAW’s super impactful play on both ends, he’s yet another guy who will be getting a hefty contract extension once he reaches free agency in 2024. Unless Minnesota lets him walk this off-season. He is currently a restricted-free agent.
“Man, he’s special,” Karl-Anthony Towns said when asked what it’s like to play with Beverley.
He’s special as a player, as a person. He’s a winner. He breaths winning, and it’s great that his competitive juices fly that much, because in practice it pushes you to another level. He’s one of those guys, of course, I’ve seen him from afar, you hate to play against him but then you’d love if he was your teammate. I couldn’t have been more right, you love playing with him, you hate seeing him on the court against you because you know he’s just a pest and he’s annoying as hell. He’s one of those dudes that like, whatever you say he lacks in size, or he lacks in skill, he makes it up totally by being himself and being that kind of energy, and he’s a leader too.
Wolves fans have been holding onto hope for Pat Bev reunion for quite a long time. While there is some newfound optimism in that playing out, Minnesota may not have the money to sign him. However, all those things may not matter as his former teammates continue to rave about him as a player and person.
