How good do you see Andrew wiggins being?

[Run DLC]

It's crazy to think that some people even thought this guy would be the next LeBron James or better than LeBron. He might prove me wrong, but i never understood the hype about him. Sure, he jumps higher than LeBron, but LeBron was a complete freak of nature since middle school. I think he has potential to be a wealthy man's Paul George, but i don't think he'll ever be a HOF type of superstar or even get to play like a superstar.

[ny-n-md]

I didn't read all of the posts in here, but does anybody else see similarities to Jeff Green? He was big time at Georgetown and versatile and athletic too.

[Rapcity_11]

lol, slow first step. You obviously don't want basketball.

Boozer-like defense? I really love the media's (and ignorant kids') focus on Parker's inability to play defense while not realizing that he is playing out of position 90% of the time as a college 5. Let me remind you of something you may not want to hear, Parker's defensive rating, while playing out of position, is superior to that of Wiggins. Parker is not a great defender, but he is certainly not a sieve that Wigginstans want to make him out to be.

Pretty sure everyone (well, almost) aknowledges Parker as a poor defender who will struggle to guard either the 3 or the 4 in the league. Hell, part of the reason he was playing C defensively was he couldn't defend the wing, at all.

Defensive rating at the individual level? Almost meaningless. (Which you did a fine job of demonstrating)

Also, he definitely has a slower first step compared to NBA 3's. At the 4 he'll be quick but at the 3? Below average. (And that's ok!)

Go watch some college basketball. Parker was playing 5 for Duke because Duke doesn't have any center on the roster. He is by far the best post defender and post player for Duke.

I'm done with you. Another Wigginstan seems to have been born completely blind and incapable of reasoning. Armed with a irrational love for chimp-like athleticism and misguided hopes of unrealistic development. That about sums it up.

I'm a Wigginstan and blind because I don't think his development is over at 19 and I agree with the consensus that Jabari Parker is a poor defender? And *part* of the reason he was playing C is because he struggles defending wings?

Ok, then.

I'd also watch the rasicst innuendo you threw out there.

[SmoothKobra]

I'm done with you. Another Wigginstan seems to have been born completely blind and incapable of reasoning. Armed with a irrational love for chimp-like athleticism and misguided hopes of unrealistic development. That about sums it up.

[og15]

I didn't read all of the posts in here, but does anybody else see similarities to Jeff Green? He was big time at Georgetown and versatile and athletic too.

Lucky for him he isn't a tweener SF/PF, please don't out that Jeff Green cures on him

[Joseph17]

Pippen without the playmaking ability.

[NBAfan3024]

Amazing the hype around him now you see people comparing him to guys like Jeff green.

[skones]

Not sure anyone throwing out Andre Iguodala comparisons has even watched him play. (Or George for that matter but I digress)

He tops out as a similar player to Luol Deng.

[OlDirtMcBert]

Gerald Green-ish.

[Willarmm]

Rich mans kawhi Leonard. Humble but more athletic and less strength

[Tave]

I didn't read all of the posts in here, but does anybody else see similarities to Jeff Green? He was big time at Georgetown and versatile and athletic too.

Jeff Green with a consistent jump shot would be an amazing player. The knock on Green is that he's not a good enough shooter to play on the wing and not big enough to bang down low. I think Wiggins already projects to be a better shooter than Green, and I don't see any team trying to stick him at PF.

[Steven1562]

It's crazy to think that some people even thought this guy would be the next LeBron James or better than LeBron. He might prove me wrong, but i never understood the hype about him. Sure, he jumps higher than LeBron, but LeBron was a complete freak of nature since middle school. I think he has potential to be a wealthy man's Paul George, but i don't think he'll ever be a HOF type of superstar or even get to play like a superstar.

Played nothing like Lebron .... coming out of high school Lebron was already so skilled ... handles/passing like Magic and he was built like a tight end .... Wiggins was hyped because he was the top high school guy ... i remember when Shabazz Muhammad was called the next Kobe then he was called James Harden lite ... now he's gone off the radar ... i don't think Wiggins will fall off that hard but he won't be Lebron some where in the middle

[Tave]

Wiggins' hype was centered around the fact that he's a generational athletic talent who has shown exponential growth as a basketball player in a very short timeframe. Prior to his sophomore season, which ended up being his junior season when he reclassified, he was just an unknown kid with some youtube clips of nice putback dunks. He came out of nowhere to jump past Jabari in the prep rankings, based on that extreme growth curve and seems to add more and more to his game every year.

The biggest knock against him coming out of high school was "he has no jumpshot, look at his awful FT%." In the course of one off-season he completely reworked his mechanics, developed NBA-range, and began knocking down FTs at close to 80%.

Now the knock is "he has no ball-skills and can't finish." Well word among scouts watching his workouts is he's already showing marked improvement on his handles.

THAT is why people are so high on him, not just because he's a freak athlete, but because he's also a workhorse who has continually showed the desire and skill to add facets to his game at an astonishing rate.

[Rapcity_11]

THAT is why people are so high on him, not just because he's a freak athlete, but because he's also a workhorse who has continually showed the desire and skill to add facets to his game at an astonishing rate.

Nah man, haven't you been reading? His development is over in most areas.

[GallagherArt]

Not sure anyone throwing out Andre Iguodala comparisons has even watched him play. (Or George for that matter but I digress)

He tops out as a similar player to Luol Deng.

He would be comparable to Iguodala if he greatly improved his all around repertoire of skills while still maintaining his timid mentality, to his advantage he is more athletic than Iggy, although Iggy has had an Adonis' physique since he's come into the league. A more athletic Luol Deng makes sense.

[Illmatic12]

Wiggins' hype was centered around the fact that he's a generational athletic talent who has shown exponential growth as a basketball player in a very short timeframe. Prior to his sophomore season, which ended up being his junior season when he reclassified, he was just an unknown kid with some youtube clips of nice putback dunks. He came out of nowhere to jump past Jabari in the prep rankings, based on that extreme growth curve and seems to add more and more to his game every year.

The biggest knock against him coming out of high school was "he has no jumpshot, look at his awful FT%." In the course of one off-season he completely reworked his mechanics, developed NBA-range, and began knocking down FTs at close to 80%.

Now the knock is "he has no ball-skills and can't finish." Well word among scouts watching his workouts is he's already showing marked improvement on his handles.

THAT is why people are so high on him, not just because he's a freak athlete, but because he's also a workhorse who has continually showed the desire and skill to add facets to his game at an astonishing rate.

So based on his workouts against folding chairs, he's supposedly a great ballhandler and finisher now? Those reports always come out around the draft "So and so has shown marked improvement in workouts". Then when they start playing NBA games, they go back to being the player we thought they were.


Based on what we saw in actual live games, Wiggins can barely dribble with his left hand, and he can't finish at the rim (shot 42% at the rim in NCAA which is very poor, and generally rim% translates to the next level). Those are two of the hardest skills to improve on.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ISjeKIuumE[/youtube]

^Looking at those plays, Wiggins doesn't have natural touch around the rim. That's something you develop on the playground at a young age, it's very hard to develop a knack for finishing once you're at this stage. And for all his athleticism, he rarely raises up and dunks in the half court even though he should be able to.

I think Wiggins could be a stud defender and transition player, but he has an uphill climb to becoming a great offensive half court player in the NBA. And that's what he'll have to become to justify the hype.

[Tave]

^^^I think his left hand will be fine, he doesn't turn the ball over and gets to the line at will. His finishing to date has been sub-standard, but he also looks like he grew a couple inches coming into Kansas and is still filling out his frame. At 19, kids are all over the map in terms of physical development, and given his astonishing athleticism, excellent body control, huge hands, and soft touch, I wouldn't worry too much about his finishing unless we're 3-4 years down the line and he still hasn't shown any growth in that regard.

And yes, lots of basketball players make huge strides in finishing at that age, when they transition from adolescent boys to grown men. People need to realize that, historically, very few players enter college mature enough to bang with older players, including well-known NBA all-stars.

[Illmatic12]

^^^I think his left hand will be fine, he doesn't turn the ball over and gets to the line at will. His finishing to date has been sub-standard, but he also looks like he grew a couple inches coming into Kansas and is still filling out his frame. At 19, kids are all over the map in terms of physical development, and given his astonishing athleticism, excellent body control, huge hands, and soft touch, I wouldn't worry too much about his finishing unless we're 3-4 years down the line and he still hasn't shown any growth in that regard.

And yes, lots of basketball players make huge strides in finishing at that age, when they transition from adolescent boys to grown men. People need to realize that, historically, very few players enter college mature enough to bang with older players, including well-known NBA all-stars.

I wouldn't worry about his finishing if I expected him to be a high-end role player. But if he's going to be a 1/1b option offensively, imo he has to get better in that department or it will be an issue. He needs to have some way to score efficiently other than transition dunks, right? Btw, most of the top finishers in the NBA were great finishers from day 1. There aren't many examples of players going from poor to great finishing/touch around the rim.


And I don't know how you define body control, but I wouldn't say Wiggins body control is that excellent. He often looks awkward when he moves with the ball, and doesn't finish well through contact. When you talk about excellent body control, you're talking about the likes of Rose, Westbrook, Lebron. Not Wiggins. In fact, I would argue that Jabari Parker has exhibited better body control than Wiggins.

When I watch Andrew Wiggins, I see a player who has a lot of raw athleticism but hasn't learned how to harness it yet. He's young, but so are most prospects coming out of the draft these days .Who was the last #1 pick to have such a great disparity between his athleticism and skills? Wiggins skill level isn't what we're used to seeing from players drafted that high.

[Prokorov]

^^^I think his left hand will be fine, he doesn't turn the ball over and gets to the line at will. His finishing to date has been sub-standard, but he also looks like he grew a couple inches coming into Kansas and is still filling out his frame. At 19, kids are all over the map in terms of physical development, and given his astonishing athleticism, excellent body control, huge hands, and soft touch, I wouldn't worry too much about his finishing unless we're 3-4 years down the line and he still hasn't shown any growth in that regard.

And yes, lots of basketball players make huge strides in finishing at that age, when they transition from adolescent boys to grown men. People need to realize that, historically, very few players enter college mature enough to bang with older players, including well-known NBA all-stars.

his left hand is a big issue. what is a bigger issue is that he cant creat offense from the left side of the floor. he is super uncomfortable there, and he only ever goes right on attempt straight blow bys. no crossover, no counters, no hesitations. just go.

these arent thing you develop into EXCELLENT skills from the level he is at. he works hard, he will get better. but you dont go from extremely raw and unskilled to tmac/superstar level skills at his age and current skill set. that feel for the game is a gift.

id be shocked if he is ever more then a rich mans terrance ross

[skones]

Not sure anyone throwing out Andre Iguodala comparisons has even watched him play. (Or George for that matter but I digress)

He tops out as a similar player to Luol Deng.

He would be comparable to Iguodala if he greatly improved his all around repertoire of skills while still maintaining his timid mentality, to his advantage he is more athletic than Iggy, although Iggy has had an Adonis' physique since he's come into the league. A more athletic Luol Deng makes sense.

"greatly improved his all around repertoire of skills"

You can say that about ANY two players and draw a flimsy comparison. Iguodala has, and always has had excellent vision, something which Wiggins has not shown at any one level of basketball. It's that skill that really sets Iguodala apart from many other small forwards in the NBA. Luol Deng's skill set is very similar to Wiggins already. Obviously some refinement is to be expected in Wiggins game, but suddenly developing that level of vision at this stage isn't something that really happens.