When you think of Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle, you think of Derek Jeter, right?
Oh, you don't? You don't compare the Minnesota Timberwolves' frontcourt to the Hall of Fame shortstop from the New York Yankees?
Well, that's apparently not a universal stance.
Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori was recently asked about rookie big man Joan Beringer not getting more minutes.
Nori responded, in part, that "it's kind of like being the backup shortstop for 20 years."
Nori went on to explain that with Gobert, Randle and Naz Reid, there aren't a lot of frontcourt minutes to go around.
But, well, that's quite the way to explain it.
I also asked Micah Nori if Joan Beringer's lack of minutes in the flow of the game to this point being more about prioritizing Julius/Naz/Rudy or that Joan isn't quite ready yet.
— Jack Borman (@jrborman13) January 11, 2026
"It's kind of like being the backup shortstop for the Yankees for 20 years"
Full quote: pic.twitter.com/cLIT2qUKMd
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Beringer is an exciting, lanky, athletic player who has flashed in what mostly amount to garbage-time minutes.
Basketball isn't quite baseball, though. Players need breaks on the bench that are built in to each rotation. The Wolves could find a way to play Beringer at least a bit more.
But hey, when you've got Jeter out there patrolling the paint, you've got to let him do his thing (don't even get us started on Jeter being an overrated defender at shortstop, please).
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