Wolves learn a crushing lesson from Jaylen Clark that they will have to live with

Jaylen Clark has given the Minnesota Timberwolves some quality minutes on the defensive end of the court this season. Clark stood out among the young trio of him, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Rob Dillingham. Despite his tremendous defensive value (which I don’t want to underestimate), Clark’s lack of offense is problematic.

The UCLA product is averaging just 4.1 points and 0.6 assists while shooting 29.8 percent from beyond the arc. Over the past eight games, Clark is averaging 12.9 minutes and 2.3 points per game. His lack of three-point shooting, creation, and playmaking are all sub-par. Clark usually finds a way to score on hustle plays, whether that’s turnovers, cuts or the like – which is nice, but not ideal when teams can target the Wolves.

As such, it’s hard to justify him playing long minutes for Clark despite his tremendous defensive value. It’s a tough situation, though, as the Timberwolves need another offensive defenseman besides Jaden McDaniels.

Clark deserves a role in the rotation given his defensive value, and I’ve been advocating for him to have a bigger role at points this season. However, there’s no denying that his offense clearly limits his ceiling.

Clark’s offense lags far behind its defense and this may not change

Undoubtedly, Clark’s lack of floor space hurts the lineup options the Wolves can deploy. They need a significant amount of three-point shooting around Clark or teams will move on from him and throw the kitchen sink at Anthony Edwards or Julius Randle.

I don’t want to discount Clark’s high basketball IQ because it is certainly a positive. He can make teams pay for leaving them open by getting to the basket. Plus, his ability to crash the glass is valuable. Clark also often makes the extra pass and the right read. Nevertheless, there is no denying that Clark has certain limitations as a creator and 3-point shooter.

Simply hitting open 3s would do wonders for him. While Clark shot 43.1 percent from 3-point land last year, his 30.2 percent shooting from 3-point range in college doesn’t inspire much confidence that it will be a consistent part of his game. Clark has always been more of a defensive specialist, and this may never change.

This is not a big problem in the regular season. Notably, the Wolves’ offense is actually slightly better (1.3 points per 100 possessions) with Clark on the court. But when it comes time for the playoffs, having a bad shooter that teams can slump with is inherently more problematic.

The Wolves appear ready to trade for a point guard at the deadline. Still, Clark will likely earn some minutes given the need for additional ball defense. How his offense will hold up in high-leverage situations is an underrated yet important question to keep an eye on for the Wolves.

Ultimately, the Wolves will likely have to ride the highs of Clark’s defense and find a way to contain the lows of his offense.