Wiggins: "There's not 100 players better than me"

[Jedzz]

I don't think he's a full time pg, we just need to find a middle ground.

He doesnt need the ball in his hands all the time, but he does need touches and get some possessions initiating the offense.

We just cant have him being that floor spacer waiting for kick outs.

Your last sentence is right. Your first two I don't think so. I think he really needs to be that full time PG in order to get the most out of him. And I think his head is ready for it.

He's not going to be Ricky Rubio. But either is Culver. What Wiggins appears to be this season is a much headier player making decisions more immediately and more deliberately. But once off ball we see him waiting again. On ball all the time he seemed just as willing to pass someone open as finish himself and we need that decision to be in his hands if he's capable of it. It seems like he is capable of it this yr.

[minimus]

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I am have been really enjoying him playing like that. Making AW great again has been our highest priority by far. Because of his development as ballhandler, slasher and cutter I believe that effective next to combo guard like Malcolm Brogdon: big, decent passer and defender, excellent shooter. 20-22mil per year seems to be ok to me.

I see only one guy who can fit this role (defense is a bit questionable though) Bogdan Bogdanovic. Kings offered him 51M/4yrs contract. I'd offer him 60M/4yrs contract. I'd say that Bogdan should be our top priority if there is way to get him on long-term affordable contract. Unfortunately, in this case we need to wait until offseason and I think some teams like NYK will outbid us easily.

[Crazy-Canuck]

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I am have been really enjoying him playing like that. Making AW great again has been our highest priority by far. Because of his development as ballhandler, slasher and cutter I believe that effective next to combo guard like Malcolm Brogdon: big, decent passer and defender, excellent shooter. 20-22mil per year seems to be ok to me.

I see only one guy who can fit this role (defense is a bit questionable though) Bogdan Bogdanovic. Kings offered him 51M/4yrs contract. I'd offer him 60M/4yrs contract. I'd say that Bogdan should be our top priority if there is way to get him on long-term affordable contract. Unfortunately, in this case we need to wait until offseason and I think some teams like NYK will outbid us easily.

Its even more impressive when you consider he saw 1 of and sometimes 2 of harkless, kawhi, or George on every possession. Those are 3 excellent wing defenders.

[DaKid]

I'm excited to see what he can do when we add some 3 point shooters. Wiggins and towns for that matter will benefit greatly when defenders can't slack off at Culver and okogies positions

[Jedzz]

I'm excited to see what he can do when we add some 3 point shooters. Wiggins and towns for that matter will benefit greatly when defenders can't slack off at Culver and okogies positions

I don't know if it's ever going to happen. Doesn't seem important to this GM / Coach. They had Martin up and playing and he had good shooting days and bad shooting days. But overall he's a smart player too. They could have kept him going a little longer in bench minutes to see if he could iron out some consistency and it wouldn't have hurt the team anymore than current players do. I don't know if the two way status puts limits on that or what.

I don't mind them sending a player like Martin back to Gleague to work on that consistency or because of roster requirements. But here they have this problem with shooting from those still on the NBA team. Someone with shooting skills from the Iowa team should be up here developing with minutes purely because there is a giant need for shooting skills. If they have to cut someone that can't shoot at all to make room then so be it. We can't have a basketball team with only two or three players capable of shooting average levels.

[shrink]

I am have been really enjoying him playing like that. Making AW great again has been our highest priority by far.

“Make AW Great Again”

I wonder if I can get a cap that says that?

[Jedzz]

I am have been really enjoying him playing like that. Making AW great again has been our highest priority by far.

“Make AW Great Again”

I wonder if I can get a cap that says that?

A&W rootbeer shops colors

[mplsfonz23]

I am have been really enjoying him playing like that. Making AW great again has been our highest priority by far.

“Make AW Great Again”

I wonder if I can get a cap that says that?

Again?

[vagelis]

Andrew Wiggins needs to step up even more.
Even this year that he averages 25ppg I have the feeling that he does not play full aggressive and he is not playing to his potential.
And he needs to start dunking again, we will all enjoy more. I don't understand him but I believe to his assets from the first day.
I think he has a lot more to give if he becomes more aggressive

[FinnTheHuman]

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I am have been really enjoying him playing like that. Making AW great again has been our highest priority by far. Because of his development as ballhandler, slasher and cutter I believe that effective next to combo guard like Malcolm Brogdon: big, decent passer and defender, excellent shooter. 20-22mil per year seems to be ok to me.

I see only one guy who can fit this role (defense is a bit questionable though) Bogdan Bogdanovic. Kings offered him 51M/4yrs contract. I'd offer him 60M/4yrs contract. I'd say that Bogdan should be our top priority if there is way to get him on long-term affordable contract. Unfortunately, in this case we need to wait until offseason and I think some teams like NYK will outbid us easily.

I mean I'd love Bogdan on our team too, but the only reason that the Kings offered him only 51/4 is because it's not possible to offer Bogdan more money than that until his contract expires in the offseason. We'll see some hefty offers by many teams for him at that point, and it's very possible the Kings trade him before the deadline because they won't have the cap space to extend him for his market value money in the offseason.

[DaKid]

Andrew Wiggins needs to step up even more.
Even this year that he averages 25ppg I have the feeling that he does not play full aggressive and he is not playing to his potential.
And he needs to start dunking again, we will all enjoy more. I don't understand him but I believe to his assets from the first day.
I think he has a lot more to give if he becomes more aggressive

He will get better as the spacing improves and they run the offense more through him than they have.

[Jamaaliver]

The Timberwolves’ Point Wiggins Experiment Is a Feature, Not a Bug

Andrew Wiggins has long been a source of frustration in Minnesota. But this season, with a new front office, coach, and organizational attitude, the Wolves think they can finally unlock the former no. 1 draft pick’s full potential



It’s been five years since a 19-year-old Wiggins entered the league with all the hype of a top overall pick and won Rookie of the Year. But since then, he’s struggled to find his footing, and prior to this season had been seen as a ball-stopper who, in a different situation, may have already been on a second or third team.

Gersson Rosas and head coach Ryan Saunders were determined to make it work—by making it clear to Wiggins what he needed to change, and investing in him on and off the court. Pushing Wiggins began by putting an increased emphasis on efficiency. Over his first five years in the league, many had written Wiggins off. And for good reason. Wiggins had become a black hole on offense, holding on to the ball too long and taking ill-advised shots. His high scoring numbers felt empty.

But this season started off on a different note. From the jump, Saunders noticed that Wiggins was looking for his teammates more often, making smarter passes, and focusing more on his effective field goal percentage—something they had discussed before the start of the season. Whereas about a third of Wiggins’s shots last season came from the midrange (10 feet from the basket to the 3-point line), this season, less than 20 percent of his shots are coming from that space. He’s diverted more of his attempts to the paint, and now, nearly a third of his shots are coming from beyond the 3-point line.

The Wolves also wanted to explore different ways of using him on the court, which meant taking risks—like experimenting with the idea of Point Wiggins.

Despite everything that’s happened in his career, Wiggins has always had potential; why can’t Minnesota be the team that taps into it?

The Wolves, now 10-15, may be a game out of eighth place in the West, but Rosas doesn’t want to skip any steps. That’s why winning streaks and losing streaks matter far less than the buy-in he’s gotten from the likes of Towns and Wiggins.

“What we’re building here is a sustainable model, and we knew this year was going to be like this,” Rosas says.

The Ringer

[shrink]

The Timberwolves’ Point Wiggins Experiment Is a Feature, Not a Bug

The Wolves, now 10-15, may be a game out of eighth place in the West, but Rosas doesn’t want to skip any steps. That’s why winning streaks and losing streaks matter far less than the buy-in he’s gotten from the likes of Towns and Wiggins.

“What we’re building here is a sustainable model, and we knew this year was going to be like this,” Rosas says.

The Ringer

This is the key to me. Our franchise has a history of making short-sighted moves to try to add talent to our one star. We don’t take the time to change the culture and grow.

I fully endorse Rosas’ growing the team slowly, and sustainably. We aren’t changing the culture and establishing a new analytics-based offense and defense in a third of a season - that’s too tall an order. We should all be willing to take losses this year if it helps build a strong, sustainable program in the years ahead.

Thanks for posting that, Jamaaliver.

[Crazy-Canuck]

The Timberwolves’ Point Wiggins Experiment Is a Feature, Not a Bug

The Wolves, now 10-15, may be a game out of eighth place in the West, but Rosas doesn’t want to skip any steps. That’s why winning streaks and losing streaks matter far less than the buy-in he’s gotten from the likes of Towns and Wiggins.

“What we’re building here is a sustainable model, and we knew this year was going to be like this,” Rosas says.

The Ringer

This is the key to me. Our franchise has a history of making short-sighted moves to try to add talent to our one star. We don’t take the time to change the culture and grow.

I fully endorse Rosas’ growing the team slowly, and sustainably. We aren’t changing the culture and establishing a new analytics-based offense and defense in a third of a season - that’s too tall an order. We should all be willing to take losses this year if it helps build a strong, sustainable program in the years ahead.

Thanks for posting that, Jamaaliver.

The wiggs pg experiment died a few games ago. Teague was moved to the bench, but his minutes has increased. Add in culver, and the point wiggs experiment is just that, a short lived experiment. Its only alive in words, not in practice.

[Klomp]

The wiggs pg experiment died a few games ago. Teague was moved to the bench, but his minutes has increased. Add in culver, and the point wiggs experiment is just that, a short lived experiment. Its only alive in words, not in practice.

I don't know if I agree with that.

[shrink]

I don’t think point-Wiggins is the ultimate goal, but I doubt it will disappear this year completely if it keeps Wiggins engaged, and can help him avoid falling back into his old habits.

[Jedzz]

The wiggs pg experiment died a few games ago. Teague was moved to the bench, but his minutes has increased. Add in culver, and the point wiggs experiment is just that, a short lived experiment. Its only alive in words, not in practice.

I don't know if I agree with that.

Surprise.


It has been removed from the team for this entire losing sequence. Explain how he's not exactly right.

Wiggins is right now back to the same guy he was for years. They took a good thing and killed it. It's not something they can just switch to for 3 possessions in a row and then switch away from for the rest of the game again. At it's minimal effectiveness, he was handed the role for a 4th quarter. At it's maximum he started the game this way and ruled it. They stole all the magic being stupid about this. It's dead. Wiggins' fire is now out. Way to go smart guys. Shove it up your analytics.

[Jedzz]

I don’t think point-Wiggins is the ultimate goal, but I doubt it will disappear this year completely if it keeps Wiggins engaged, and can help him avoid falling back into his old habits.

This whole thing about building a culture and their strict system and not caring about the players now thing is the biggest pile of bung ever. You can't say those things and totally ignore the reality of the next 4 seasons of one of your Max players. They need to get off their tails and trade him ASAP if they are not going to use him correctly. They are now killing the value they had initially allowed to swell for the first time ever. The team will be right back to being stuck with him and playing a system that isn't featuring the best of him. The really poor part to think about is that they were a winning team when featuring him. Now they are back to the worst of the league again, because as always this team chooses to be there and claims they are doing the right things.

[Jedzz]

Andrew Wiggins needs to step up even more.
Even this year that he averages 25ppg I have the feeling that he does not play full aggressive and he is not playing to his potential.
And he needs to start dunking again, we will all enjoy more. I don't understand him but I believe to his assets from the first day.
I think he has a lot more to give if he becomes more aggressive

You are exactly right. We got a taste of what he could be early this season but it was just a taste of it. There is more to be had if they would committ to him in his best role and let him build that into something great. They apparently won't, so now he's regressing. Woe is us.

[minimus]

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