Minnesota Timberwolves: 2019 NBA Draft grades

No. 6 pick: Jarrett Culver

Disclosure: I love Jarrett Culver, irrationally. His shot is far from perfect, and in all likelihood he will only become an average shooter at best, but I melt for his kind of hard-nosed game. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves as a playmaker, and his defense is more than worthy of the praise he’s received for it over the past few months.

Throw in perfect intangibles and an insane work ethic — he had his agents reserve a gym in Brooklyn so he could practice after the draft — and I don’t see how this guy doesn’t become a 10-year NBA starter, at least.

Players that well-rounded don’t fail. Remember, despite Texas Tech advancing to the NCAA championship, that team was never projected to be anywhere near that good after it lost four of its five starters from the 2017-18 season. Culver almost single-handedly destroyed the Big 12 and college basketball, more convincingly so than R.J. Barrett and Darius Garland, who were both taken ahead of him.

The All-Star talent is real, as many have pointed out (lest we not mention the name of the other man in this tweet, no matter how good he is).

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1141397733825269760

The only reason to criticize this pick is because of the logjam it creates at shooting guard, if we still insist on adhering to strict positions despite modern NBA trends. The Wolves have Andrew Wiggins, Josh Okogie, Robert Covington and now Jarrett Culver for two positions. With the “aggressive shopping” of Wiggins going poorly, something has to give.

There likely are more dominoes to fall, but having depth on the wing is never a bad thing. Covington is the only good shooter of the bunch, but having KAT on your team relieves spacing tension in a way that you can live with considering Culver’s playmaking. His dribble is already better than Wiggins’, making him a solid threat to drive on rotating defenses.

Wiggins remains the elephant in the room, but that shouldn’t mar this pick. Culver was the best player available, and it’s good that the Wolves won’t look foolish for passing on him simply due to positional fit. Besides, based on Suns fans reactions, it wasn’t a bad mistake (sorry, Suns fans).

Grade: A-