Minnesota Timberwolves: Who is the team’s third best player?

1. Malik Beasley

The only player on this list who was part of those big trade deadline moves, which ended up filling out the rest of Minnesota’s big three, Malik Beasley is looking at free agency this summer, and it would be wise for the Timberwolves to do whatever they can to retain him.

Beasley, frankly, has shocked everybody with his play. This season, as a member of the Denver Nuggets, Beasley averaged 7.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 38.9 percent from the field and struggling for minutes coming off the bench.

Then, when Minnesota traded for him and placed him in the starting shooting guard role, it seems like he flourished. As a member of the Timberwolves, Beasley has been averaging 20.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from 3-point range.

Admittedly the sample size for Beasley on the Timberwolves is fairly small, just 14 games, it is comforting to know that he has been able to share the spotlight with Russell and that both guards have been able to get their numbers in.

Last offseason, the Timberwolves front office wasn’t very cautious with the players they let go in free agency, only holding on to one of their 10 free agents. This decision, while questionable at the time, seems now to be a long term shot at building a better team. Now that the Timberwolves seem to have that, it would benefit them to work to keep this group together.