Timberwolves' Jarrett Culver to undergo season-ending ankle surgery

Timberwolves reserve wing Jarrett Culver will undergo arthroscopic surgery on May 7 to address “debridement of scar tissue and loose body” in his right ankle and will be sidelined for the rest of the 2020-21 NBA season, per a team press release.

In his second pro season, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard out of Texas Tech saw a reduced on-court role with Minnesota, averaging 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.7 minutes across 34 games — all significant decreases from his rookie numbers. The ankle issue has already cost Culver 17 games this year.

Chris Hine of the Star Tribune noted that, despite his stagnation in output this season, the Timberwolves still see the 22-year-old former lottery selection as a promising roster element. “He’s still a big part of our future as we see it,” head coach Chris Finch commented. “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.”

In other Timberwolves injury news, the man who supplanted Culver as the club’s starting 2-guard, Malik Beasley, has returned to on-court workouts this week as he continues to recover from a left hamstring injury.

Finch indicated that he was hopeful Beasley could suit up for a few of the lottery-bound Timberwolves’ final games this season. “He wants to play,” Finch said. “I think, psychologically, he wants to go into the offseason knowing that he’s in game-ready shape.”