The Minnesota Timberwolves need a lot of things this offseason, and spacing is one of them. Minnesota native Tyrell Terry is arguably the best shooter in this draft class.
Tyrell Terry is an incredible shooter. As stated, probably the best coming out of college this year. Terry has a lot of upside with his off-ball movements on the offensive end of the floor. He is not spectacular at coming off of screens like the Aaron Nesmith’s of the world, but he is sufficient in that area.
Terry’s shooting is not likely to just disappear either. He has great form with a high release point. Terry shot over 40-percent from three during his freshman year at Stanford while maintaining a near-90-percent clip from the free-throw line (110 attempts).
There is a lot to like about Terry’s passing, as well. It’s unlikely he will ever be able to become a primary initiator at the next level, although his potential as a secondary playmaker is great.
Terry is a good pick-and-roll guard with his ability to score on the perimeter and be crafty inside the paint. All in all, he has really good fundamentals. Terry can compete on the defensive end by, by all means, he is downright awful on defense.
When it comes to off-ball movement defensively, Terry actively loses awareness of where his man is. His defensive awareness is Trae Young-levels of bad. Terry also has a really thin frame at only 160 pounds — and it seems unlikely he develops into even an average on-ball defender. Terry was really bad allowing drives to the hoop, wasn’t a good help defender (especially along the perimeter), and more often than not gets caught ball-watching.
Terry is an intriguing prospect and will likely be selected between picks 20-40 — right in the Timberwolves range.
Fit with the Timberwolves
A lot of evaluators have fallen in love with Tyrell Terry as the season has gone along. He is a really fun player to watch. Terry’s shooting was unparalleled this season and it is easy to see why he is sliding up draft boards.
That said, Terry is not a primary facilitator and will likely be forced to play the point guard position at the pro level due to his size. The Timberwolves simply need more defense in their backcourt, and adding Terry does not help that, especially with D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley already existing there.
Terry would add a lot of spacing to the Timberwolves, there is just a major question of how much would he be able to play at the NBA level due to his lack of size and strength. Teams in college often targeted him defensively and that will probably be the case (possibly even more so) in the NBA.
Terry fits a lot of teams’ needs/wants for shooting. He is a very similar prospect to Ty Jerome (who the Suns took with a top-20 selection) last offseason. That said, Minnesota should probably go in another direction with their second-round pick.