With a sudden glut of wings on the roster, here are three options if the Minnesota Timberwolves decide to trade Culver.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a busy week, including an active draft night, a pair of trades, and multiple moves in free agency.
The team picked up Anthony Edwards, Leandro Bolmaro, and Jaden McDaniels in the draft and traded for Ricky Rubio. From there, the team re-signed Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez and traded Omari Spellman, Jacob Evans, and a future second-round pick to the New York Knicks for Ed Davis.
The Wolves’ moves thus far bring a number of key implications in terms of the roster, namely the abundance of guards.
When combining the Rubio trade, the Beasley signing, and the drafting of Edwards with the existing roster, the Wolves find themselves with a suddenly crowded backcourt. D’Angelo Russell, Beasley, Rubio, Edwards, Josh Okogie, Jarrett Culver, and Jaylen Nowell are all under contract and the Wolves are in discussions to bring Jordan McLaughlin back as well.
While depth is important for any NBA team, a team with this many guards leaves questions in terms of the allocation of minutes.
Simply put, the Wolves have too many guards and not enough forwards. Because the team likely can’t supply significant minutes to all of these guards, it is plausible the team may look to trade one of these guards, and Culver is a prime trade candidate.
At this point in his career, Culver is a solid rotational NBA wing. He is strong defensively, athletic, and his physicality has only improved. However, he struggled offensively in his rookie year in Minnesota, averaging 9.2 points on 29.9 percent from three and 46.2 percent from the free throw line.
Even with a rocky rookie season, Culver showed some of his significant upside and that should translate to value on the trade market. For the Timberwolves, this could be a sell-high situation, where a young player isn’t necessarily a fit on the team which leads to the team deciding to trade the player before his value decreases.
This value has basis in reality, as Culver has reportedly been shopped to multiple teams this offseason, and was a topic of conversation leading up to the draft according to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
Sources: The Timberwolves are attempting to acquire a second lottery pick. They’ve had talks with the Hawks for #6. A possible deal could include Jarrett Culver and #17.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 11, 2020
A number of teams are interested in Atlanta’s #6 pick—the Pelicans and Celtics being among them, sources say.
Despite his offensive struggles, Jarrett Culver still has a lot to offer as a player and clearly still has value on the trade market.
Given the Wolves’ crowded backcourt and the value Jarrett Culver has in the trade market, let’s take a look at what a Jarrett Culver trade might look like this offseason.