Imagine it’s the 2021 NBA Playoffs, and Patrick Beverley just limited Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker to a combined 18 points on 27 percent shooting. Pretty good, right? That’s the type of elite defensive player the Minnesota Timberwolves are gaining.

Before Gersson Rosas was fired, he arguably pulled off the best trade of his tenure. Moving two players out of the rotation (Jarrett Culver, Juancho Hernangómez) for a starting-level player is almost unheard of.

The Timberwolves ended their 2020-21 season with a defensive rating of 114.5 (28th). It’s reasonable to assume a two-point improvement, which would jump close to 10 teams.

Their offense will be good, but the biggest question mark is on defense. Minnesota ended their preseason with a defensive rating of 99.5, which ranks in the top-10. Surprisingly, their defensive was better than their offensive rating (13th).

Raise your hand if you thought the Timberwolves would finish with a better defensive rating? *crickets*

A huge reason Minnesota has looked better on defense is because of Beverley. Even if he’s not on the floor, he’s setting the tone from the bench.

He’s been bringing the intensity to practices, and that’s translated to production on the court.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Timberwolves react to an intense trash-talking player. The last time the Wolves brought in a player like that (Jimmy Butler), it didn’t end well. However, this looks like a great fit, and he can either start or come off the bench depending on matchups.

Minnesota was engaged defensively throughout the preseason, and you can see Beverley’s intensity rubbed off on the other players. Russell commented on that after the New Orleans Pelicans game, saying Beverley set the mindset on defense.

Offensively, Beverley won’t have to do too much. He’s a good 3-point shooter, averaging 39.7 percent, which is an upgrade over Ricky Rubio. The Timberwolves have a lot of offensive weapons, so the burden of scoring won’t be on his shoulders. That will allow him to focus most of his energy on defense.

Beverley isn’t the most important piece on the Timberwolves roster, but he’s going to have a huge impact.