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NBA Draft 2019: Analyzing Minnesota Timberwolves picks and overall grade

By Bryan Mauro

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Jarrett Culver poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the sixth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Jarrett Culver poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the sixth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are the exact opposite of a storied NBA franchise.  They are loaded with young talent and are still waiting to take the next step.  Could their NBA Draft help get them closer to that goal?

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been stock piling young college talent over the last couple of seasons. That talent usually comes in the form of players who only played one year in college. Unfortunately for that franchise many of their NBA Draft picks over the non-historic history have missed the mark. The Timberwolves front office is still trying to find the magic in their draft picks, the same magic they were able to find with Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak.

The Timberwolves ended up with the sixth pick after a draft day trade allowed them to move up from 11. The trade sent backup center Dario Saric to the Suns. With the pick the Timberwolves selected sophomore guard Jarrett Culver from Texas Tech. Culver had a breakout season and played his way into a lottery pick. The former Red Raider can score and distribute. He played a lot of point guard at Texas Tech and was the key to their offensive attack. Culver loves the mid-range game and he is automatic from the short pull ups out to mid-range jumpers.

The guard was thought of as the second best off guard in the entire draft class, and some even thought he was the second most talented player in the draft behind Zion. Culver is already ready to be a two-way player. Minnesota should rest easy knowing they are not going to have to hide the rookie on defense. He is going to be able to guard most wings and guards in the league and look comfortable doing so. He is a good rebounder especially on the defensive end. Culver is going to have the luxury of playing with an experienced backcourt in Jeff Teague and Tyus Jones. He is going to be able to move into and learn both guard spots while the expectations for production this season will be moderate.

With their second and final pick of the night the Timberwolves selected another guard. This one was Jaylen Nowell out of Washington. The reigning Pac-12 player of the year is most likely destined for the G-League to start his NBA career. This season Nowell dominated the league and was the best player for the conference champion Huskies. He shot 44% from three and 50% overall from the field. His defense needs work and he is not consistent enough from the floor to earn quality NBA minutes.

While in the G-League he is going to be able to hone his game to make it more NBA ready. What does that mean?  He will be able to work on his defense his footwork and develop a more consistent shot. The guard also finds himself in a tricky situation as he finds himself in a logjam in the backcourt. Not only does he have to beat out his new teammate Culver, but the backcourt is locked down by two good NBA players. If Nowell plays in the NBA this season it will likely be due to an injury.

At the time of this writing Minnesota signed two undrafted free agent players. One of the players they signed could make a huge impact. Naz Reid from LSU signed a two-way deal with the Timberwolves shortly after the draft ended. Reid was a surprising omission from the 60 players selected on draft night. The center has a great motor and great touch in the post. He uses his size and athleticism to get easy baskets. The one thing that led to the slide of Reid was his defense was severely lacking and often he appeared lazy and didn’t look engaged in playing the game of basketball. If he can get past that and succeed early in the G League, he will have great value. The center has a path to the NBA squad as Minnesota just traded their back up center.

Next. Biggest takeaways from 2019 NBA Draft. dark

The other free agent signing for the Timberwolves was Tyus Battle a guard out of Syracuse. Battle fell out of the draft this season because of injuries and a year in which he did not perform up the level he would like. Battle would have been drafted a year ago had he stayed in the draft. The guard is average across the board and is not great at any one thing. Syracuse is notorious for running nothing but a zone defense. Even despite that many think Battle could be a serviceable defender in the league. He like Reid and Nowell will need grooming the G League before he is anywhere close to ready for an NBA roster.

Overall Grade: C-

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