3 members of the Minnesota Timberwolves most impacted by basketball hiatus
By Jack Borman
No. 3 – Jarrett Culver
No member of the Timberwolves organization has a more uncertain future than Jarrett Culver.
After Gersson Rosas’s fire sale at the trade deadline, he sent the message two messages loud and clear.
Number one, that he will always be hyper-aggressive to bring in top-tier talent that can take this roster to the next level; and number two, that no role player on this team is off the table when he tries to do so.
In a piece I wrote last month about what the Wolves need to do once basketball returns, I stressed the need for the Timberwolves to continue to empower the rookie from Texas Tech and define his role moving forward.
In the early part of the season, Culver saw a good chunk of his minutes come at point guard, a position he has never comfortably played. Early struggles led to the team experimenting with his game in a variety of ways. They played him at three different positions, all while trying to fix his clunky shot mechanics.
It is never a good sign when a team has to experiment that much with a guy they selected No. 6 overall. Sure, you can tinker with lineup combinations and try to find another teammate the rookie plays well alongside, but it is rare that teams shuffle a guy around different positions while doing so.
Culver was heralded as a potential Swiss Army Knife type of guy at the NBA level, but the team’s lack of a clear plan for Jarrett was the first warning sign that he may not pan out in Minnesota. That’s not even to mention the problems with his jump shot and his slender frame.
But, thankfully, Culver’s last 14 games of the season restored hope that he could be a high-level player.
JC really hit his stride post-deadline, and a permanent move off the ball was a huge reason for that. Now that Minnesota has two true point guards in D’Angelo Russell and Jordan McLaughlin, one would think that Culver can continue that success he found off-ball into next season.
It's hard to understate how big of a turnaround Jarrett Culver had in terms of efficiency over his last 14 games (minus the FT shooting).
— Jack Borman (@jrborman13) April 5, 2020
If we get the same confident Culver next season that we saw down the stretch of this season, the team's floor is higher. pic.twitter.com/uMMNhqqj6j
With the NBA season seemingly headed towards a cancellation, it leaves the Wolves in a wildly interesting place when it comes to Culver.
Can they sell high on him after the promise that he showed over the last 14 games and package him with the Brooklyn pick (No. 16, at least for the moment) for a high-end role player like Jonathan Isaac or Duncan Robinson?
Do you bet on him continuing this strong play, despite the small sample size? Does Culver continue to improve upon his efficient play next season? Can he bulk up to 215 pounds in order to play better defense? Is Rosas afraid to ship out an asset because he was a top-six pick?
No player has more questions surrounding them than Jarrett Culver, and it will be fascinating to see how things play out this summer and beyond.