Golden State Warriors Receive: G/F Jarrett Culver, MIN 2022 2nd Round Pick

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: C Kevon Looney, G Damion Lee, GSW 2022 1st Round Pick

It seems crazy to think the Golden State Warriors would actively try and trade Kevon Looney, especially after losing Marquese Chriss to a broken leg, but it may be in their best interest, especially if they can acquire a young talent like Jarrett Culver who possesses a lot of talent.

In his rookie season last year, Jarrett Culver played in 63 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves, starting in more than half of them and averaged 9.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and shot 40.4% from the floor and 29.9% from three-point range. He did struggle to shoot in his rookie season, but moving forward, this should not be too much of a concern as he shot 34.1% from deep in two years at Texas Tech.

With the Warriors drafting James Wiseman second-overall in this past year’s draft, he is the future of their frontcourt and they will want to get him as much playing time as possible this year so he can grow into being a key championship contributor moving forward. This is why moving Kevon Looney would make sense as that would leave Wiseman will all the minutes in the frontcourt. Draymond Green can slide over to small ball five when needed and a serviceable backup could be acquired later.

From Minnesota’s perspective, Damion Lee has come into his own over the years and become a very valuable asset off the bench. He is an overall solid player as he can score, shoot, rebound and pass and also is a decent one-on-one defender. In today’s NBA, you can never have too many options in the backcourt, which is what Lee would give the Timberwolves.

With all of that being said, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade makes sense for both the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves.