Wolves look-ahead profile: Jarrett Culver

With the announcement of the NBA’s 22-team plan to close out the rest of the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are now in offseason mode. The franchise will have to make plenty of tough decisions in the coming months, including an array of personnel moves.

As Gersson Rosas and Ryan Saunders navigate the NBA offseason, FOX Sports North will analyze each player on the Timberwolves and how they might fit in with the team in the future.

This edition: Jarrett Culver

Previously: Malik Beasley | Josh Okogie

BACKGROUND

Fresh off leading the Texas Tech Red Raiders to the NCAA championship game, Culver was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, but his draft rights were later traded to Minnesota in exchange for Dario Saric and the No. 11 pick. Culver entered the NBA after his sophomore season where he averaged 18.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

SEASON REVIEW

Culver made a decent contribution as a 20-year-old rookie and showed he had the ability to score in the NBA, albeit not in the most efficient manner. He saw his minutes fluctuate throughout the season and started 35 of the Timberwolves’ 63 games.

Still, Culver’s lack of consistency on offense and inexperience on the defensive end limited his overall impact on the team. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard proved himself as a competent NBA player and showed the potential the Timberwolves saw in him, but there is room to grow.

OH MY JARRETT CULVER ? pic.twitter.com/Kkx1KZsjkj

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) December 22, 2019

STATS

GAME TO REMEMBER

Culver’s best outing came in a 122-115 overtime home victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 30. In that game, Culver scored 21 points, grabbed five boards, had three assists, three steals, one block and recorded a box score plus/minus of +7.

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT SEASON

This is Culver’s first NBA offseason and it will be very critical to his development as a player. Culver was a lottery pick for a reason, so he’s got the athleticism and the physical tools to succeed in the league, but he has to improve as a shooter – especially from the free-throw line.

He shot 46.2% from the charity stripe as a rookie, which he should be able to fix since he was a 68.7% free-throw shooter when he was at Texas Tech. Culver should try to get to that range next season and if he can become a little more reliable from beyond the arc then he could make a jump in 2021.