UCLA Basketball: Pundit Details Why Minnesota Timberwolves Took a Shot on this Former Bruin
A number of UCLA Bruins over the years have been able to enter the NBA and have long, successful careers. Playing for the university usually gives them the platform to showcase their skills to professional scouts and prove why they should be given a shot at the next level, especially when they make runs into the March Madness tournament. There were a lot of intriguing names on the Bruins' roster last season that were receiving draft buzz before the season even kicked off.
And even though the likes of Jaime Jaquez, Amari Bailey and Tyger Campbell all have plenty of upside and can be key difference-makers on an NBA roster some point down the road, I still believe that Jaylen Clark has the most potential on both ends of the floor. This is someone that takes pride in doing the dirty work and taking on the defensive assignment of the best player on the opposing squad.
It was the Minnesota Timberwolves that opted to select the defensive specialist with their 53rd pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and columnist Bret Stuter explained why even with his achilles injury, the pick wasn't as big of a risk as some think.
"Even after the ankle is medically cleared, the ability to not deliberately think about or focus on that once-injured ankle takes time, and the time required is different for everyone. While that is all recognizable and understood, it did create a decision point for the Minnesota Timberwolves contract decision. After all, should the team offer one of three Two-Way contracts to Jaylen Clark, or sign him to the last roster slot on the team with a standard contract? Each option has both merits and drawbacks. Well, as we suspected in an earlier article, it appears that the Timberwolves will be signing Jaylen Clark to one of three Two-Way contracts."
(Via Dunking With Wolves)
Minnesota has a number of great offensive players already such as Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns so once Clark gets healthy, we can't wait to see him get rolling!
