The Minnesota Timberwolves have officially announced that the team has tried out six rookies who will appear in this year's NBA Draft. The six players are Melvin Ajinca, a flanker from France, Jalen Bridges, a fifth-year winger from Baylor University, Ajay Mitchell, a third-year backcourt from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Tristan Enaruna, a fifth-year forward from Cleveland State University. Senior forward Jonathan Mogbo from the University of San Francisco, and Baylor Scheierman, big five forward from Clayton University.
Born in May 2001 and just turned 23, Bridges is a well-rounded wing player who has the ability to help the team on both ends of the pitch. According to the physical test data of the previous joint trial, Bridges has a barefoot height of 200cm, an arm span of 208.3cm, a standing touch height of 266.7cm, and a weight of 96.8kg. Bridges' height, reach, and touch height are pretty good among wing players, and his static talent is relatively reliable. However, it seems that his dynamic talent is still a little worse, and his three-second zone four-point movement and switchback running speed are so-so, but his three-quarter field sprint speed can be said to be very average, and his bounce ability is almost at the bottom of the wing players. Bridges' static talent isn't bad, but he's a bit of a concern when it comes to dynamic talent.
In the NCAA this season, Bridges played a total of 35 games for the team, averaging 31.8 minutes per game, averaging 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1 turnover, shooting 46.6% from the field, 41.2% from three-point range, and 82.3% from the free throw line. Bridges' performance this season is still worthy of recognition, his three-point shooting percentage has improved a lot compared to last season, his many statistics have also improved a lot, and he also has a high contribution on the defensive end. Although it is not particularly conspicuous in terms of statistics, considering that his tactical status is not too high, it is already relatively good for him to be able to play such a performance.
Judging from the current situation, Bridges' draft market is probably in the middle and late second round to the end of the draft, and the Timberwolves hold the No. 27 pick in the first round and the No. 37 pick in the second round in the next NBA draft. The Timberwolves currently have a very complete roster, the team needs role players who could be all-round help on the second team, and they don't have much salary space now, so a cheap second-round pick could be an ideal option. If Bridges can show enough competitiveness in the upcoming tryouts, could he also be a potential candidate for this second-round pick?