Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves announced the completion of a draft-night trade that netted the team the draft rights to No. 6 overall draft pick Jarrett Culver from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the draft rights to No. 11 overall pick Cameron Johnson and forward Dario Šarić.
Culver, a 6-6 guard, averaged 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 38 games for Texas Tech in 2018-19, earning Big 12 Player of the Year honors. A consensus 2018-19 All-America Second Team selection, Culver led the Red Raiders to the NCAA Championship Game in Minneapolis, recording 15 points and team highs of nine rebounds and five assists in the overtime loss to Virginia. Culver averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in six NCAA tournament games and was selected to the Final Four All-Tournament Team and named the West Region’s Most Outstanding Player. He posted a career-high 31 points, on 12-of-19 shooting, in the Red Raiders’ regular-season finale, a victory at Iowa State, leading Texas Tech to the program’s first Big 12 Conference regular-season championship. He was the first Texas Tech player to surpass the 1,000-point mark as a sophomore.
The Lubbock, Texas native averaged 11.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists as a freshman in 2017-18. His 415 points were the second-most in program history by a freshman.
Šarić was originally acquired by Minnesota from Philadelphia on November 12, 2018 (with Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and a 2nd-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft) in exchange for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton. He played in 81 total games last season, 68 with Minnesota, averaging 10.6 points, on 43.7% shooting, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.