It's been 5 yrs. Can we now say Andrew Wiggins is a Bust?

[Ambrose]

He's a disappointment but not a bust.

[Spree2Houston]

He's a bust in the sense he's so underwhelming on the court. He doesn't love the game. He's only in it for the paycheck. He has superstar talent but wants to chill, live the NBA life, and collect his paycheck.

[mixerball]

he is just the type of player who will have a two year peak with upper echelom mediocrity the rest of the way.

a living proof elite athleticism is just one of the mosaic pieces in a great player

[WalterBenjamin]

His only positive basketball will come with Pop 4 years down the line.

[FinallyImHere]

He's Jeff Green on a ridiculous contract.

[MaxRider]

not a bust
just didn't live up to the hype

[DrPampiloni]

He is to LeBron James, what Andrea Bargnani is to Dirk Nowitzki. Does that mean a bust?

You tell me.

[mplsfonz23]

He's a bust in the sense he's so underwhelming on the court. He doesn't love the game. He's only in it for the paycheck. He has superstar talent but wants to chill, live the NBA life, and collect his paycheck.

No, he doesn't care about the lifestyle or the paycheck. Sure he wants to get paid, and who wouldn't take the max?
I think he is someone who was pushed into the NBA by his super athletic parents. He didn't have to grow up in a hard world like a lot of NBA players, never lived in poverty, and really didn't have to want for anything. It made him a laid back person, and non aggressive. He got by on supreme talent and still has that, but the NBA can change you with all of the politics and expectations, and I think he doesn't like that part of basketball. For the most part he sits at home with his friends and family.

[ZemGOAT]

Your 2 years late

[ShazamDaShiznt]

bust is someone like hasheem thabeet

wiggins was just too much hyped in high school years which gave unreal expectations

wiggins will also have a long nba career

sort of like tim thomas guy, he gon play hard in contract years fooling teams into paying him again because of all that potential he has

[sixerswillrule]

Yeah but a bust is generally someone who isn't even good enough to be in the league.

Look at Bennet, Thabeet, Vesley, Bender, and other top 10 picks who aren't even in the league anymore. They're not in the same category as Wiggins.

But that should depend on expectations. Obviously there was a huge difference in what was expected from those guys vs. Wiggins. I mean if Wiggins as a general consensus #1 pick in his draft is a borderline top 100 NBA player, you don't think that's a bust?

Yeah but he wasn't the consensus #1. Embiid was going to be the first pick before the injury and Philly still took him 3rd overall. Wiggins and Parker were neck and neck for the #1 after that. And if you want to call Wiggins a bust, then why are we not talking about Parker? How many teams has he been on now.
Put money out of the picture, and look at the overall body of work, games actually PLAYED, and age, I think he still has time to grow into a better player. He's only 23 soon to be 24, how many players are in there prime at that age. Hell the pressure we put on 19 year olds now is ridiculous. I remember players stayed in college longer and looked better doing it. He's missed 3 games his entire career including the last 2, is playing improved D this year, and is working on his overall game.
His motor is his biggest enemy.

Go ahead and talk about Parker, no one is stopping you. He is also a bust at this point.

On June 26 2014, probably 70-80% of GMs would've taken Wiggins #1. That's a consensus #1 pick. Even if Embiid was healthy and Wiggins was taken #2, there's still no comparison in expectations for him vs. players like Vesley, Bender, and even Bennett who only a fraction would've taken at #1 or #2.

Of course Wiggins could still improve but the chances of that happening are getting smaller with each passing year. After this season it'll be 5 years in the league at 24 years old. Right now he's a borderline top 100 player.

[MeestR]

If you're still in the league after 5 years, you aren't a bust, no matter where you were drafted.

[Phreak50]

He's hardly a bust. He's just overpaid. And that isn't his fault.

This is the only answer. Keep this for every future Wiggins thread.

[mudsak]

I think he's more lazy than anything. He has superstar ability... but lacks the drive to apply it. I think Melo suffered from a bit of the same thing tbh. That's why his career has been garbage for years now.

Watch... Gordon Hayward will come back next year and outperform Wiggins. Hayward never had any business being a better player than Wiggins. But that's what grit, drive, hard work, and motivation can do for a player. Talent alone isn't enough.

[sca]

He's overpaid but he's very clearly an NBA caliber player which makes him not a bust. Disappointing sure, but definitely not a bust.

You don’t need to fall out of league to be considered a bust, IMO. Say, a guy is selected 52nd overall, fights for a rotation spot for two seasons, and then gets waived, is he a bust? Absolutely not, because 52nd overall picks rarely make it to the league anyway. What if a first overall pick drops out of the league? That makes him a bust, right?

Then whether a player is a bust or not certainly depends on where he’s drafted.

Andrew Wiggins is still living off his reputation (and that abomination of a contract). His advanced stats are terrible, he doesn’t play defense, he’s disinterested in basketball in general, and if it weren’t for his repuation, first overall status and (then) his contract, his minutes would’ve been much lower. He’d play around 20 MPG at most, and probably still hurt his team. I’d say that he is a bust when conidering he was selected first overall.

[mg]

not a bust
just didn't live up to the hype

This.
Unfortunately his contract matches the hype and not the on court performance.

[Capn'O]

I’ll call him a bust at this point, his impact is terrible.

I'm afraid so. I've never watched him and thought he was helping win.

[bargnanimvp]

I have a very different definition of bust. He's overpaid and was over rated but far from a bust.

[BR0D1E86]

It depends on your definition of bust.

He’s a poor NBA player. He hurts his team. But he’s got enough skill that he belongs on an NBA roster to see if he can be developed. (I don’t think he can) So if your definition is someone that belongs out of the league after his rookie contract, no he’s not a bust.

If you’re grading relative to draft position, yeah he’s a huge bust. He isn’t good. If he wasn’t the #1 pick his performance would have kept him on the bench and his volume stats wouldn’t have piled up like they did.

[mplsfonz23]

But that should depend on expectations. Obviously there was a huge difference in what was expected from those guys vs. Wiggins. I mean if Wiggins as a general consensus #1 pick in his draft is a borderline top 100 NBA player, you don't think that's a bust?

Yeah but he wasn't the consensus #1. Embiid was going to be the first pick before the injury and Philly still took him 3rd overall. Wiggins and Parker were neck and neck for the #1 after that. And if you want to call Wiggins a bust, then why are we not talking about Parker? How many teams has he been on now.
Put money out of the picture, and look at the overall body of work, games actually PLAYED, and age, I think he still has time to grow into a better player. He's only 23 soon to be 24, how many players are in there prime at that age. Hell the pressure we put on 19 year olds now is ridiculous. I remember players stayed in college longer and looked better doing it. He's missed 3 games his entire career including the last 2, is playing improved D this year, and is working on his overall game.
His motor is his biggest enemy.

Go ahead and talk about Parker, no one is stopping you. He is also a bust at this point.

On June 26 2014, probably 70-80% of GMs would've taken Wiggins #1. That's a consensus #1 pick. Even if Embiid was healthy and Wiggins was taken #2, there's still no comparison in expectations for him vs. players like Vesley, Bender, and even Bennett who only a fraction would've taken at #1 or #2.

Of course Wiggins could still improve but the chances of that happening are getting smaller with each passing year. After this season it'll be 5 years in the league at 24 years old. Right now he's a borderline top 100 player.

Well we can disagree then.
Embiid was the number 1 at Kansas ahead of Wiggins. Even back then Wiggins had a questionable motor, but most thought he may overcome that. He still hasn't. Again, Big men were still more valuable than wings back then, and Embiid had a great skill set. Still does. Just think, you took a broken player at #3 and Cavs didn't really any big men. With LBJ coming back, they needed someone right then and Wiggins was the best available. They suck at pick first. See Bennett.