Chris Finch is keeping Joan Beringer on the floor, even after a preseason that exposed the raw edges of his game. The Minnesota Timberwolves coach said on Sunday the 19-year-old needs live reps to work through inconsistencies, and that his regular-season minutes will be judged by how he is playing.
Beringer’s preseason line — 8.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks — showed why the Timberwolves are willing to stay with him. It also showed why they have to manage him carefully. He was caught in foul trouble, drifted out of position on defense at times and had uneven touch around the rim, the kind of mistakes that can shrink a young big’s role fast if a coach loses faith.
Finch did not sound eager to hide that learning curve. He said there will be inconsistencies and that the biggest development for Beringer will come from the reps themselves, not from a shortened leash. In his view, the answer is not to park him on the bench after every mistake but to let him keep playing until the game slows down for him.
That matters because the Timberwolves may need Beringer more than they would like to admit. He is the only true rim protector outside of Rudy Gobert, and Trey Lyles is not a traditional five, which leaves the backup big rotation thin enough that the team cannot simply wait for the perfect version of Beringer to arrive. Minnesota’s roster shift opens a lane for Joan Beringer after the Randle trade, but it also puts more pressure on him to survive real minutes now instead of someday.
Finch is also known for not being patient with young players, which makes his tone on Sunday stand out. He said Beringer could play maybe 14 minutes a night or maybe 24, with the number determined by how he performs and whether the group around him is good enough in those moments. That leaves the role flexible, but not undefined: Beringer will earn whatever stretch comes next by cleaning up the fouls, staying in the right spot on defense and making his touch around the rim more reliable. For now, the plan is simple. Let him play, and see how quickly the game starts to fit him.
