However, it’s clear that Beringer’s upside is through the roof. <\/a>He is a gifted athlete who gives the Wolves some offensive juice as a rim runner and is a switchable defender with rim-protection chops. If Beringer can cut back on the fouls and improve his one-on-one defense against physical centers, he could be even more than a quality backup in year two. <\/p>\n To be clear, even in the best-case scenario, Beringer won’t prove to be better than Gobert next season. Still, he could prove to be a starting-level center on a championship team. Yes, this is a high bar, but it’s possible. <\/p>\n Considering that he’s on a rookie contract making just $4.6 million in the 2027-28 season, it could be worth starting him and looking to trade Gobert’s $38 million expiring contract (assuming he picks up his player option).<\/p>\n Even if Beringer excels, though, Kuminga proving his worth is another important part of the equation. This gives the Timberwolves a clear path to reallocate some of Gobert’s money. <\/p>\n Jonathan Kuminga could prove more important than a one-year rental<\/p>\n On a two-year, $12.4 million deal with a player option after the first year, Kuminga is widely viewed as a one-year rental.<\/a> Admittedly, this is the most likely scenario. But what if he proves to be a perfect fit? If he buys into being a high-quality complementary forward, it’s possible. For this to happen, he would need to play physical defense off the ball, be disruptive off the ball, and be an athletic play-finisher on offense. Players like this are highly valuable to title-winning teams. Look at Aaron Gordon. <\/p>\n In this scenario, Kuminga would be worth re-signing on a long-term deal for roughly $20 million a year. That’s not possible with Gobert staying put, though. As such, if Kuminga proves to be an ideal fit and Beringer proves to be ready for more than a backup role, they could trade Gobert. The Wolves could take back less money, and thus re-sign Kuminga to a fair contract. It’s possible this also gives the Wolves some future draft capital. <\/p>\n If Kuminga is indeed a one-year rental, the Wolves will once again be searching for a power forward. That will be a tricky void to fill with the Wolves’ cap situation. So, if Beringer proves to be a starting-level center, keeping Kuminga and trading Gobert would be logical in many ways. Fully committing to Anthony Edwards’ timeline could also be part of the logic of trading Gobert. <\/p>\n
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