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.
Memphis Grizzlies wing Jarrett Culver has been a solid defender at the NBA level thus far
Even though his NBA career hasn’t gone to plan thus far, Culver hasn’t had any issues defensively. In limited minutes, his steal numbers have been solid and he has been active all over the court.
This was a big selling point for him at the college level, where he played in a very defensive-minded system at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders had an impenetrable defense that year — I can attest to this, as Culver’s team knocked out my Michigan State Spartans in the final four, allowing Tom Izzo’s squad just 51 points. Culver was the centerpiece of it all.
Culver is a smart defender and he knows how to make timely plays on that side of the ball, something that the Grizzlies must value very highly. It looks like the Grizz have gone all-in on developing a strong defense, especially considering a Jonas Valanciunas-Steven Adams swap a few weeks ago.
Culver won’t be anywhere near the starting lineup and on a team full of wings, it’s unclear exactly how he’s going to fit. That said, he has a ton of upside as an NBA player and the Grizzlies’ acquisition of the former Red Raider was nothing short of highway robbery.
Memphis Grizzlies wing Jarrett Culver’s offense needs work. . . a lot of it
The offensive end is where things start to get concerning for Culver at the NBA level. From his first season to his second season, the former Texas Tech wing regressed pretty significantly in the areas that count. One of those areas is 3-point shooting, where his percentage dropped from an already-bad 29.9% to an even worse 24.5%.
This wasn’t too much of a concern in college, where he was actually a really solid shooter. In Culver’s freshman year at TTU, he knocked down 38% of his 3-point shots at a pretty high volume. The shooting potential is there, the Grizzlies just have to unlock it.
Outside of his long-range shooting, Culver did actually improve slightly in terms of efficiency in his second season. Despite a 5% dropoff in 3-point shooting, his overall field goal percentage went up in his sophomore season in the NBA. Still, at 41.1%, the number is unimpressive.
The Grizzlies have seen a handful of their wings take huge strides forward on offense after joining the organization, including Dillon Brooks and De’Anthony Melton, both of whom were primarily defensive players upon arrival on Beale Street.
With Culver, Memphis is taking a similar risk that they did with Ziaire Williams, who had comparable struggles when it comes to shooting the ball consistently and stepping up at a higher level. Still, the potential is there for both of these guys. Now, things come down to how well Memphis can develop players.
At the end of the day, the question remains — what is the Grizzlies’ plan here?
The Memphis Grizzlies are up to something with Jarrett Culver
As previously mentioned, the Grizzlies picking up Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez in exchange for Patrick Beverley may not seem like a great deal at first, but it is. Culver is still a former top ten pick whose potential hasn’t yet been seen. The Grizzlies got him and another serviceable player for a veteran point guard on an expiring contract.
There’s really not much risk here either — if Culver stinks, he stinks. The Grizz will simply move on. They didn’t give up much to bring him to Memphis in the first place.
The hope, however, is that he develops into the elite defender and offensive three-level scorer that draft scouts were raving about a couple of years ago. If there’s a place that this can happen, it’s Memphis. The Justise Winslow experiment didn’t go well, but outside of that, this new Grizzlies staff has a nearly flawless record of developing talent.
Memphis has a year or two to feel this out before they either kick him to the curb or sign him to a longer deal.
But before we get too far into this, it’s important to note that the Grizzlies may not even plan to keep him around. Before Tuesday morning, a few of us thought that Patrick Beverley would be suiting up in a Grizzlies uniform. A lot can change in a day.
Either way, Memphis just picked up a 6th overall pick who hasn’t had an opportunity to prove himself for chump change. The Timberwolves, to be blunt, got fleeced in this deal.