The Memphis Grizzlies threw a fork into fans’ expected offseason a few times already. Just when it looked like things would begin to settle down after the 2021 NBA Draft, Zach Kleiman made sure there was plenty to talk about. This came in the form of a trade.
The Grizzlies brought Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo to Memphis, immediately shipping Beverley off to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In a short period of time, this was a lot to dissect.
But without going into the Grizzlies’ goals as a whole, we can look at the impact, implications, and general outlook of Jarrett Culver’s potential career on Beale Street.
Quick overview of Memphis Grizzlies wing Jarrett Culver’s disappointing NBA career thus far
Culver came into the league as one of the most highly-touted prospects in the 2019 NBA Draft. He was picked up by a struggling Minnesota Timberwolves team with the 6th-overall pick and his future looked bright.
Unfortunately, he wouldn’t live up to the hype. That said, he did get off to a solid start, averaging 9.2 points per game in his rookie season, with 0.9 steals and over a half-block per game to go along with it. He would start in over half of the Timberwolves’ games in 2019-20.
Then, he practically fell off of the map in 2020-21. After missing some time with an ankle injury, Culver struggled to get into a groove in his sophomore season. He averaged just 5.3 points per game and shot the ball poorly at under 25%. Eventually, he’d be ruled out for the remainder of the season so that he could get surgery on his ankle.
In short, he hasn’t had much of a shot yet. Much like Jaren Jackson Jr., his value appears lower than it is due to the fact that he has struggled with injury-related issues thus far.