The Case for Keeping Culver

[Lipoli390]

Rosas traded up for Garland in 2019 and ended up with Culver at #6. Since that time, Culver has obviously been a big disappointment. His perimeter shot looks broken and he has often looked out of sorts on the court. More recently, he's had some injury issues, although nothing appears to be too serious. Overall, most Wolves fans, including those of us who post regularly on this Board, appear to want the Wolves to deal Culver even though the return would likely be small. Note that, if the Wolves choose not to trade him this summer, they'll have to decide soon after the next season begins whether to pick up the $8M option on his contract for the 2022-23 season.

Although I've posted about my interested in seeking to trade Culver, here's the case for keeping him:

1. As we would all likely agree, Culver's trade value right now is at a low ebb and trading him this summer would likely bring very little in return - certainly nothing close to the value you'd expect for a still young #6 pick.

2. Although I wasn't high on Culver as a prospect in the 2019 draft, he was a highly regarded prospect and not simply a fanciful reach by Rosas. In fact, Culver was a top 6 pick in nearly every mock draft and highly respected draft analysts viewed him as an excellent NBA prospect. In other words, he was widely recognized as a very talented, upper-tier NBA prospect. And that shouldn't be a surprise given that, as a sophomore, he was the best player on one of the two teams in the NCAA finals.

3. It takes time for some college prospects to develop their NBA games. As a result, some player who look like busts after two seasons go on to become good or even great NBA players a few more seasons into their careers. A prime example would be Chauncey Billups. After being selected #3 overall in the 1997 draft, Chauncey bounced around with several teams and looked like a bust until his 5th season here in MN. He didn't really come into his own as a bona fide starting PG until his 6th season, after which he became a perennial all-star caliber player.

4. Culver hasn't had the chance yet to play for an NBA-caliber head coach. Therefore, it's reasonable to believe that he has a good chance of benefitting from the chance to play for Chris Finch, who looks like a very good head coach.

5. By all accounts, Culver his a super hard worker and gym rat who is fully committed to improving his game.

I'm not sure how Culver can get minutes on this team as currently constructed. But injuries happen and there's definitely a chance that the Wolves move Beasley and Nowell this summer to better balance the roster for next season. So as I reflect, I still want Rosas to shop Culver this summer. But I don't think Rosas should simply take anything he can get to clear Culver's salary and break the logjam in our backcourt. I think we've reached a point where Culver's trade value can't go down much if at all. At the same time, I think there's reason to believe Culver can improve and become a positive contributor for the Wolves next season and beyond. And his trade value can only go up.

Here's what Chris Finch had to say recently about Culver: "He's still a big part of our future as we see it," Finch said. "So we want to be sure that we give him the best chance to have the proper preparation going into next year, and it's important." 1 day ago - via Chris Hine @ Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Finch could be blowing smoke and simply attempting to bolster Culver's trade value heading into this summer. But I'll take what Finch said at face value. In any event, I think the four reasons I listed above provide ample support to holding onto Culver next season regardless of what Finch truly meant by his recent comment.

[FNG]

I'm on the fence about moving Culver. I guess it depends a lot on whether we relieve the wing logjam this offseason to allow some meaningful minutes for him next year...it's the only way I ever see us getting any value out of him. Absent that, I might let him go to a team that thinks they can fix him, but I wouldn't expect much more than an expiring contract in return.

I'll add one more element about Culver that hasn't been discussed. I was fortunate to go to three games in April (have I mentioned that I was 3-0 :) ), and have provided some positive comments about the respect the team shows toward Finch and his coaches and the camaraderie on the team. But one guy who doesn't seem to fit in at all is Culver. He's a preacher's kid and deeply religious himself, and as much as I admire him as a person, he is far from the typical NBA player in demeanor. He seldom interacts on the sidelines with anyone. I really wonder if anyone on the team knows him very well. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things...just something I wanted to point out.

[Coolbreeze44]

Well Lip, first of all you don't even consider picking up his option. That would be insane. After watching Culver in college, I had very low expectations for him as a pro. I hated the pick at the time and am not surprised at all at how his career has gone. I'd take a 2nd rounder for him and be happy to cut bait.

[thedoper]

The case is that he's got a contract next year (mistake by Rosas) and selling now would be a low. It was a horrible pick, but the best we can hope for is that he has a few nice games off the bench or in injury replacement next year and his contract runs out or we get a deadline deal where a dumb team is willing to take him on.

[Lipoli390]

Well Lip, first of all you don't even consider picking up his option. That would be insane. After watching Culver in college, I had very low expectations for him as a pro. I hated the pick at the time and am not surprised at all at how his career has gone. I'd take a 2nd rounder for him and be happy to cut bait.

Cool - I'm trying so hard to be positive. Then you crush my optimism in a short three-line post. :). Seriously, as I'm sure you recall, I also hated the pick when Rosas made it. Although I tried to make the case for keeping Culver, I know there's a good case for dealing him if we can get a 2nd round pick and expiring contract or serviceable vet in return. And while I didn't like the pick, a lot of smart basketball minds were high on Culver as an NBA prospect coming out of college two years ago. So I'm not sure I'm ready to give up on him now when we probably can't get more than a future 2nd round pick in return.

[Monster]

I think this is obvious but I don't want to have to pay to get rid of him but I'm not sure he has much value right now so...the case for keeping him and hoping is not too hard to make. Like Cool said if we could get a 2nd rounder and move on...even though there might be a possibility of selling to low I might do it even though I still believe in Culver being a worthwhile player in the league.

I have a comp for Culver although they are different in terms of what type of guys they are the skillets are actually kinda similar. Josh Jackson looked pretty bad through 2 seasons. He isn't exactly lighting the league on fire now but I believe he is above average defensively and I think his offense isn't terrible now. He turned 24 in February so there is a little hope for him to get somewhat better. Is he worth a top 5 pick? No. Could he be a useful rotation wing for the next 5 years? Maybe and if so that could be useful. Its more useful than Derrick Williams who is simply out of the league.

I think it wouldn't hurt to have Culver go through a whole off-season and see what you get with the guy. If there is a deal that includes him in the off-season where the deal makes the team better then do it even if that means Culver was basically just salary fodder. At this point would you rather have Juancho or Culver on the team next year? Based on the makeup of the team currently I would rather have Juancho...that's not exactly high praise... Th Wolves said awesome stuff about Wiggins and they even built up his value somewhat...and they traded him. I think most of think Rubio is likely to be dealt this summer and I bet they are still saying nice stuff about him. I'm not saying the Wolves are being fake but if they think they can get better they are not afraid to pull the trigger. Hell they said nice stuff about James Johnson too.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

There is very little upside to trading him and very little downside to keeping him. The worst thing with young lottery players is the expectation that you have to play them. That is no longer the case with him. Keep him on board and let him duke it out for backup minutes with Nowell.

[DNatagal]

There is very little upside to trading him and very little downside to keeping him. The worst thing with young lottery players is the expectation that you have to play them. That is no longer the case with him. Keep him on board and let him duke it out for backup minutes with Nowell.

Exactly. Get his surgery and rehab behind him, hopefully he is ready for summer league, play him as much as he can handle. Let him have a chance to stick on the team, but if he flames out, so be it.

[Porckchop]

Monk, Moon Lighting, Kagney and Lacey and Angela Landsbury couldn't solve that case.

[BloopOracle]

Don't really want to sell low on him as some other posters that stated, but I would be all for including him as salary filler for a player like John Collins. I would also be interested in a Culver for Marvin Bagley swap.