The Andrew Wiggins Thread

[big3_8_19_21]

Go ahead and merge this if one exists, but I didn't see a thread for general discussion on Wiggins.

highlights from first 2 pre-season games:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6R6z2FtOXg[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hSNitRyHPY[/youtube]

Predictions on Wiggins' rookie year stats?

As a comparison here is Durant as a rookie:
20.3 points
4.4 reb
2.4 ast
0.9 blk
1.0 stl
43.0% FG
28.8% 3FG
87.1% FT

I could see Wiggins stacking up similarly but with slightly higher %'s and somewhat lower point totals. Durant had to take pretty much every shot for that 07-08 Sonics team. The second leading scorer was Chris Wilcox at 13.4 ppg and he missed 20 games. I really hope Wiggins can get that 1 block + 1 steal + 1 3pt per game.

[Ice32]

I can see Wiggins averaging maybe 18 ppg - with 6 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk on 45/35/85 shooting

He already looks like a 3rd year pro on the floor, so comfortable and not forcing too much. He can run, post up, shoot and dunk. Going to be exciting to watch. The combo of Rubio/Brewer/Wiggins/Thad on defense is creating alot of fast break opportunities.

This injury to Durant could force OKC to make some moves, Kevin Martin perhaps? He has played there before and could be the starting SG, even with Durant back. Brewer + JJ maybe? Perkins has an expiring 9 mil salary.

[Klomp]

I was going to stay away from having any more single-player threads like this once the Rubio thread gets to 100, but since it's been done, might as well go with it.

I'm going to say 17 ppg, but not going to guess anything past that.

[shangrila]

He's just further ahead than I thought he'd be. His body control is great, he can seemingly get to where he wants to on the court, his shooting is better than expected, his defence is excellent, he's unselfish, etc, etc.

[Varejao17]

He's better than I expected everywhere, I was afraid he would be "only" a Corey Brewer... He's a stud, All-Star in 2-3 years at most, the sky is the limit.

[Foye]

I'd be pretty happy if he scores 15 ppg right away. Don't think he will, though.
Flip will keep him around the 30 minutes mark.

[wildvikeswolves]

Maybe its just me, but it seems like Parker gets a lot more love then Wiggins gets

[First Step]

You guys should be enamored with what you got for Kevin Love.

From an outsiders perspective, I think Kevin Love is a good player, but at least at this point in his career he hasn't shown to be a capable guy who can lead a team anywhere.

He seems like the type to always point the finger and say whats wrong, rather than looking inside and seeing what he can do to take it to the next level. He seemed to have a poor attitude.

Seems the two young rookies just want to come in and work hard. Both have had humbling experiences, and don't have bad attitudes.

Good luck with Bennett and Wiggins. They appear to be good players that you can build around. Flip Saunders is a good coach. It's going to take a while, but I can see a bright future for you.

[Klomp]

How do you keep a savior from feeling he's got to save the world?

This is the task facing the Timberwolves, who are keeping Andrew Wiggins away from prying eyes outside of Minneapolis while he learns the ways of the NBA. It would be hard enough for any No. 1 overall Draft pick, but it's certainly harder for one that LeBron James didn't see fit to mention when he came to Cleveland, where Wiggins was for a brief few weeks.

But Wiggins was always the bait the Cavaliers were ready to use to pry Kevin Love from the Wolves, in a deal that everyone knew was likely the minute James decided to return to the 216. The second Cleveland could legally be traded by the Cavaliers, they sent him and Anthony Bennett, their 2013 No. 1 overall pick, to Minnesota for Love. Which was good for Wiggins.

He is no longer the No. 1 overall pick. That was his burden in Cleveland. In Minneapolis, he's just replacing Love. Easy. (For the sarcasm deficient, I am kidding about the easy part.)

The Timberwolves, in concert with Wiggins' representatives, are limiting his media exposure to post-practice and game sessions. He debuted locally with fellow rookie Zach LaVine at the Minnesota State Fair, which was perfectly fine, and he's done nothing so far but instill a sense of the possible in the team's early practices. (As he certainly would not be thrilled with daily questions about why LeBron cast him overboard for Love, it's not a surprise Wiggins is being sheltered, though he'll have to make his feelings known about it sooner or later.) Family members are living with him this season in Minneapolis to help him get used to the new surroundings.

On the court, Wiggins is just getting his feet wet for coach Flip Saunders. In his preseason debut last week, Wiggins played small forward and had 18 points, four rebounds and three blocks against the Pacers. But the Wolves are trying desperately to temper individual expectations on Wiggins.

"Everybody has bought into, if we're going to have any type of success, it's going to have to be from a team effort," general manager Milt Newton said. "Our slogan is, 'We over me.' He knows that he doesn't have to come in and be the man from day one. He's going to have to come in and be part of the team, which he has shown. He has shown the ability to want to do that. He and Zach and Anthony, they have their ears wide open."

Newton was on Larry Brown's national championship team at Kansas in 1988. He's a made Jayhawk, and he's privy to the real stuff about anyone who plays in Lawrence. And so he knows what Wiggins has to work on in the pros.
"He could play 60 percent [at Kansas] and still be the best player by far," Newton says.

When scouts watched Wiggins at Kansas, there were times when they saw he could dominate games when and if he stepped up his intensity. That message has been passed along to the Wolves' coaches, who've been on Wiggins to push himself harder, stop trying to blend in. They want him to know he's one of the guys, but not just one of the guys. Being an NBA star requires NBA star effort. They were pleased to see Wiggins didn't have to be asked twice.
"Very coachable," said Sam Mitchell, who played for the Wolves for 10 of his 13 seasons. He was brought back to Minnesota for another tour by Saunders as an assistant coach.

The Wolves know Wiggins has to grow into his body and learn the NBA game. But the talent is obviously there. They believe Wiggins is a better shooter than people think, and will excel putting the ball on the floor. He isn't mistake prone. He listens. They believe he should be a good rebounder for his size and at his position. Right now, they believe he's clearly a small forward, not a four.

With Wiggins, Bennett and LaVine, second-year center Gorgui Dieng and the sublime Ricky Rubio at the point, Minnesota's got a lot of young talent. But the adjective there is all that matters in the NBA. The Wolves did get Thaddeus Young from Philadelphia as part of the Wiggins-Love trade, and they do have vets like Mo Williams and Corey Brewer around to try and teach. But it's much more likely to be a long season. Victories will be determined in different ways than, well, wins and losses.

The vets have pushed Wiggins in practice to see if he'll respond. In one of the Wolves' first scrimmages, one of the wings was being physical with Wiggins as he guarded him, to see what Wiggins would do. It happened once. A second time. The third time, Wiggins started to hold his ground, showing the lockdown ability on defense that Minnesota hopes will become a regular part of his NBA game when he gets stronger.
"You saw with this kid, sometimes something has to trigger in him for him to come back at you," a team source said. "What we've been trying to get him to do is be that way from the beginning."

Minnesota's been here before. When the Wolves traded Kevin Garnett to Boston in 2007, they had to set back the clock and start over. A year later, they got Love in a Draft-night trade and could start thinking about the future. That future dissolved in a hail of poor decisions, bad picks and injuries, while Love stewed and waited for help that never arrived. The Wolves are desperate for history not to repeat itself. But they can't put those kinds of expectations on their latest teenage sensation.

"He's a kid," Newton said. "I watched him get better every practice, but just like a lot of other rookies, you're going to take your lumps, because the vets have that basketball savvy. They know how to get through a camp.

Mentally, they've been through it, so they're not expending that much energy thinking about the play. All rookies go through that. But I would say once or twice each practice, he would do something that made his teammates go wow. He can elevate and get a shot -- and get a good shot. But defensively, he has a chance to be really special."

What Wiggins becomes is in his hands. But in Minnesota, he won't be reminded how far he's come in such a short time, and how far a top pick can fall when he doesn't live up to the hype.

"We just don't talk about his draft status, the fact that he's the No. 1 pick," Mitchell said. "We just let him be him.

These kids are smart enough to understand what's going on, with the social media and everything. You set standards for yourself. If I reach my goals, then everybody else will be happy, because my goals will be loftier than theirs."

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/d ... index.html

[Takingbaconback]

His defense is ridiculous. Wiggins definitely has a chance to be a top 5 NBA defender in his rookie year if not higher than that.

[Big_C_KU]

Kansas fan here.

His defense is going to be ridiculous. He won't stop the very best (who does?) but he'll make them earn it and the players he should shut down he'll shut down. He'll block shots and get into passing lanes and something I always loved at KU was if there was one side of the court where you were always going to get Wiggins most effort it was on the defensive end. He'll be All-NBA defense in a few years.

Handles still need to get tighter although his right hand does seem stronger in those 2 games than what I saw at KU. His left hand is still not good as he lets it get too high and up on his wrist when he goes left at causes him to be out of control. He has such a long stride that he goes right past defenders to the hoop with ease, even at the NBA level. His pull up jumper is solid and will get more consistent as his handles become stronger. What I was most impressed about was his shooting. Seemed to shoot with basically the same form on all his 3pt shots. He went straight up and straight forward a little and followed through and shot the ball at the top of his shot. The potential to be a very good 3pt shooter is there but at KU he seemed to struggle with consistency as he sometimes shot with his feet unset or he shot the ball after reaching the peak of his jump. I really liked seeing him make plays for teammates a few times including his first assists on the fly to Brewer and his assist to Young for a corner shot I believe in the 76ers game.

Between getting to the basket to draw fouls and being a 75-80% foul shooter, what seemed to be more consistent 3pt shooting, and good looking fade-away I believe he'll average 16 ppg as a rookie and shoot a solid %. He'll put up a few single digit games, especially in the 1st half of the season. But he'll also have a few games where he gets up to the challenge and gets hot and drops 30+ points. I believe by the end of the season he'll know what he can do and be giving around 20 per game.

Just don't let Wiggins willingness to differ to teammates make you believe he's lazy. He really prefers to get his offense within the flow of the game and not force it.

[breatnach]

He knows that he doesn't have to come in and be the man from day one. He's going to have to come in and be part of the team, which he has shown.

They want him to know he's one of the guys, but not just one of the guys.

Does anyone else see a contradiction here?

[AQuintus]

He knows that he doesn't have to come in and be the man from day one. He's going to have to come in and be part of the team, which he has shown.

They want him to know he's one of the guys, but not just one of the guys.

Does anyone else see a contradiction here?

I understand what he's trying to say. They want him to play within the system/not ballhog but at the same time, they want him to be the go-to guy/ star.

[Kabookalu]

You guys are so damn lucky to have gotten Wiggins out of Kevin Love. He's going to single handedly turn your franchise around.

Just don't let Wiggins willingness to differ to teammates make you believe he's lazy. He really prefers to get his offense within the flow of the game and not force it.

Spot on. What makes Wiggins special is that he sees himself as part of a whole, not as the entire pie like so many young talented stud players think themselves as. Where young players learn to conform within the offense, Wiggins is learning to be more aggressive. Either way he's on the path to superstardom.

[Klomp]

He knows that he doesn't have to come in and be the man from day one. He's going to have to come in and be part of the team, which he has shown.

They want him to know he's one of the guys, but not just one of the guys.

Does anyone else see a contradiction here?

It is about not putting too high of expectations on him going into the season, but still wanting him to not be complacent and to be aggressive.

[Flight33]

All that Wiggins bust talk earlier on was so foolish. I predict he wins a championship in Minnesota.

[Calinks]

I just worry that he may have some Wesley Johnson in him with his unwillingness to be assertive. So though I haven't seen him disappear once which is good.

[AQuintus]

I just worry that he may have some Wesley Johnson in him with his unwillingness to be assertive.

A big part of that was Wes not being able to dribble or shoot at the NBA level. So far, Wiggins appears capable of doing both.

[drk3351]

Hey T-Wolves fans, I made a video breakdown of one of Wiggins preseason games. I take a deep look into his strengths and weaknesses, let me know what you think of him from what you've seen so far, and thanks for watching.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imDN8cCPEm8[/youtube]

[urinesane]

He is further along as an NBA player than I thought before I saw the first preseason game.

The kid is legit and looks like he could easily be a super star down the road.

I thought that may have been hype before I saw him this preseason, but I think it's spot on. Definitely has the tools to be a great player, not just a freak athlete.