Minnesota Timberwolves: Analyzing new players from Covington trade

Jarred Vanderbilt

The Minnesota Timberwolves essentially swapped Noah Vonleh for a younger big man in Jarred Vanderbilt who could be a contributor both this season and down the road for this franchise.

Vanderbilt came to Kentucky as a top recruit in 2017, but he only played in 14 games for the Wildcats due to some injury issues and never started a game during his one season in college.

That caused him to fall to the second round before Denver scooped him up with the 41st overall pick.

Vanderbilt has only played in 25 games during his two seasons with the Nuggets, but Denver is one of the toughest places to find playing time because of their incredibly deep rotation.

At 6-foot-9, Vanderbilt is a big who is mobile enough to potentially play that switchable style of defense that Ryan Saunders wants to implement. He needs to put on more weight to bang with opposing big men down low, but Vanderbilt still has plenty of time for his body to develop as he’s just 20 years old.

The Timberwolves have a very talented coaching staff who can put in the work to get the best out of Vanderbilt. And he’s on a non-guaranteed deal for next year, so Minnesota can easily cut him if they don’t think he’s a great fit for the organization.

I’m excited to see Vanderbilt get some run with this team after the All-Star break to determine whether he’s an NBA-caliber player that was simply buried on the Nuggets’ deep bench.