Rip City Project
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Portland Trail Blazers: A Potential Trade With Every NBA Team

By Spencer Poole

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 08: Khris Middleton #22 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts after being called for a foul against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on January 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. 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 Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 08: Khris Middleton #22 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts after being called for a foul against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on January 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. 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 Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers
Jarrett Culver, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Minnesota Timberwolves

Why It Makes Sense for the Portland Trail Blazers

Jarret Culver is coming off a disaster of a rookie year. At times his offensive struggles made him borderline unplayable and his defense was not the highly polished product it was made out to be. With such a poor showing out of the gate, his future in Minnesota already looks unsteady, especially with Anthony Edwards potentially coming to town this offseason.

Even still, Jarrett Culver is not a lost cause, far from it in fact. As the season progressed his shooting started to come around. After New Year’s, Culver’s splits jumped from 36/26/42 to 44/35/51. And his defensive potential still can not be overlooked. He led all of college basketball in defensive win shares in 2018-2019 and sports an impressive 6’9.5” wingspan for his height.

For Portland, Culver would be a short term project piece who would hopefully turn the corner towards being a positive contributor sooner rather than later. If he can improve his three-point shooting and defensive consistency, Culver could play some big minutes off the bench as a defensive-minded shooting guard.

Why It Makes Sense for Minnesota:

If Minnesota drafts Anthony Edwards like they are expected to, that would put him and Culver in direct competition for the second guard spot next to D’Angelo Russell. In this case, Minnesota would be likely to consider moving on from Culver to find a better fit in the Timberwolves system.

Anfernee Simons brings the potential to be an elite scorer off the bench who could serve a Dennis Schröder type role for Minnesota’s backcourt. He can get buckets in bunches and his defensive shortcomings would be hidden going up against bench players rather than other teams starters.

Two second-round picks can help the Timberwolves fill out their rather shallow end of the bench with project picks or quality players who fall through the cracks.