The undrafted Maryland point guard has landed in Minneapolis. Melo Trimble has signed with the Timberwolves on a partially-guaranteed deal after spending some time with the 76ers in Summer League.
While this is not exactly the Jimmy Butler trade, this is another under-the-radar Wolves move that could very well pay dividends later on. Trimble was a three-year starter at Maryland, and by all accounts, came out of college a year late. There is no question that Trimble will be a project, but he has potential to be a solid bit player for a stacked roster, and the best team to nurture a project is on a roster that does not need to push him into heavy minutes too soon.
The upside of Trimble is his shot, which is reliable even under tight defense. He averaged 16.8 points during his final season — the best in his three years with the Terrapins. His clutch shooting was put on display time and again, knocking down game-winning shots in Big Ten games, most notably against Wisconsin and Michigan State. When driving to the basket, he has the ability to put moves on a defender and slide past big men, making shots and finding open teammates for the assist.
The building blocks of an NBA contributor are there; however, he is very rough around the edges. He dribbles into a lot of bad shots when he could simply pass out to free players on the perimeter, leading to turnovers. He is not an exceptional defender and his best season was as a sophomore paired with college stud Diamond Stone. His junior year also hurts. While he admittedly was on a less-talented team, he could not raise the Terrapins very far above average, despite competing in a Big Ten conference that has seen better years. The team star was responsible for 100 turnovers and only forced 36, while watching his 3-point (31) and free throw percentages (78) take dips. If Trimble is going to make the team and get minutes, he needs to get back to the player who dishes it to a talented big man, like Karl-Anthony Towns, instead of playing himself into turnovers and poor shots.
While this move will probably not make much of a difference this season, the Trimble stroke is too pretty when he is confident and smart, to turn down at the cheap price. He can be a very solid backup guard; that is, if he can survive the sanding down that Tom Thibodeau’s coaching will do.
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