I get it, the nothing-for-nothing trades aren’t very fun, but if the Timberwolves do, in fact, deal Culver, the return is going to be less than what everyone expects.
In this trade, the Timberwolves would be sending him to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for the 56th overall pick and 2020 second-round selection Nick Richards.
The Hornets are a team that has lots of salary cap space this summer while also maintaining a plethora of young assets. Since it probably won’t take much to get Culver, they pool two of their lesser assets to add him to the roster here.
Similar to the New Orleans Pelicans, though, the Hornets are going to look to maintain a lot of that flexibility as they need to add more talent to the roster in free agency. They are rumored to be interested in players such as Richaun Holmes and Nerlens Noel – either of which could eat away at their cap space.
In addition to the (really) late second-round pick, the Timberwolves also grab Nick Richards, who did not get much run for the Hornets this past season. He appeared in 18 games, never playing more than 10 minutes.
In the G-League bubble, though, Richards appeared in nine games, averaging 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game on shooting splits of 52/50/80. That doesn’t mean much considering it isn’t true NBA competition, but there is at least some potential there.
Long story short: The Timberwolves are not going to get much for Jarrett Culver. If they get something and Culver lands in a good situation – that would be the best case scenario.