MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said he expects inconsistency from Joan Beringer, the 19-year-old who takes over as Minnesota’s backup center behind Rudy Gobert this season.
Robson published the exchange as the last of four parts from his Sept. 8 interview with Finch in Minneapolis for MinnPost.
The job opened on July 10, when Minnesota traded Naz Reid to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the four-team deal that brought LaMelo Ball to Minnesota.
Chris Finch On Joan Beringer’s Rookie Season
Finch said Beringer could have had more chances last season if the roster had been built differently.
“What gives us great confidence is that when he had chances last year — and he could have had more if we weren’t constructed the way we were constructed — he met the moment most of the time,” Finch said. “When he failed to meet the moment is when he had too much opportunity, like when I had to start him.”
Minnesota drafted Beringer 17th overall in 2025. The Timberwolves assigned him to the G League’s Iowa Wolves on Dec. 9 and recalled him two weeks later. His second assignment, on Jan. 3, lasted two days. On Jan. 13, in a 139-106 win over Milwaukee, he scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 30 minutes. By the end of the season he had played in 40 games, averaging 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds and shooting 66.3% from the field.
With Gobert and Reid sidelined, Beringer started the final two games of the regular season. On April 10 at Houston, he scored 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting in 26 minutes. Two days later against New Orleans, he had 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting and seven blocks in 31 minutes of a 132-126 win.
Chris Finch On Fouls And Effort
Beringer’s energy is the part Finch wants him to keep.
“You have to realize, as with all young players, there is going to be inconsistency,” Finch explained. “The way I’m looking at it, is it self-imposed inconsistency or is it just young-player-growth inconsistency? I think with Joan you are certainly going to have the latter. The former — he plays so hard, he’s got incredible balance and energy. He’s got to figure out the balance of retaining the effort while regulating wanting to go after everything all the time.
“The fouls. He always ends up on the ground, you know?” Finch continued. “And oftentimes takes himself out of position by being overly aggressive. But learning to dial that back is better than the other way around, trying to ramp somebody up all the time.”
Beringer grew up playing soccer in France and did not take up basketball until 2021. In 2024-25 at Cedevita Olimpija, he led the ABA League in blocks and won the Slovenian Cup.
In July, Beringer opened Las Vegas Summer League with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks in 25 minutes of a 105-92 win over New Orleans. He started that game at power forward.
Minnesota’s Frontcourt Behind Rudy Gobert
Gobert, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, is entering his fifth season with the Timberwolves.
Minnesota has options for small lineups, but Finch has not settled on them. Robson pressed him in the first installment of the series on how Minnesota would go small with Gobert resting and Beringer in foul trouble.
“I don’t know yet,” Finch said. “You must have been in my sleepless dreams last night.”
Robson called the scenario a logical nightmare. Finch said that was better than an illogical one, and that the roster gives the Timberwolves “choices.”
Beringer made $4.2 million in 2025-26, the first season of his rookie-scale contract.
