Why Andrew Wiggins is pissed at T'Wolves
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Wiggins is the third best player Minnesota has when everyone is healthy. Butler and Towns are both more efficient scorers than he is (largely because they get to the FT line more). Towns’ effective FG% is 60%. Butler is 51%. Wiggins is 48%. If you were deciding who should get the most shots out of that group, give the guy with the 60% more opportunities. Minnesota has both Wiggins and Butler shooting about 16 times a game, while Towns takes about 14 shots a game.
This may be why Cleveland moved Wiggins. Would Wiggins have been okay being the third option behind Lebron and Kyrie (clearly superior players)? It is tough to find a guy that is talented enough to carry you on certain nights, but also willing to take a back seat to the other stars on most nights. That’s what makes Golden State (and specifically Klay Thompson and Draymond Green) so special. Thompson and Green are both guys capable of having big games, but most nights, they let Durant and Curry do their thing. That’s what makes Golden State so tough. If you do happen to limit Durant and Curry, you might still lose because Thompson goes for 30, or because Green drops a triple double.
But you have to have a guy who is willing to accept that lesser role. Maybe Wiggins isn’t ready to be that guy.
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All the following are comments about appearances and no assertions of facts.
Wiggins has never appeared to have had the burning competitive desire to be great. It appears no great competitor could have reputedly turned down Self’s offer to put the team on his back. It appears no great competitor would have apparently played as he did against Stanford. He has apparently approached basketball as a business, appearing to be careful to never give more than he got. He has always appeared to try to conserve himself in order to get to the paycheck and keep the paychecks coming as long as possible. The idea has apparently never been to be the best. The idea was apparently always to make the most money for a career. It’s certainly his prerogative to do it this way. But this appears the kind of career that results from doing it this way. He has apparently never developed his skills as much as he apparently might have either. Some great talents squander their chance to be the best there ever was by self-destructive behavior. In contrast, Wiggins appears to have never sought to be the best. Instead, he appears to have chosen to see how many seasons of pay he could get instead. With as little wear and tear as he puts on himself, he might be the first guy to play till he is 60. But he will likely never come close to becoming the best there ever was this way.
Regarding his spat with the T Wolves, I doubt it has much to do with being third option. It appears it’s been part of the business plan to move to a larger market, from the moment Lebron stiffarmed him to the tundra. He appears to be making a designed stink to get him to a bigger market. LA most likely. This appears mostly about money.
But there is nothing wrong with not wanting to be the best there ever was. And Wiggins does not appear to short change employers. He appears to give them what they pay for, just not more.
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Whisperings
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Not sure about this source. Half gossip, half ad.
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Considering that Wiggins just signed a maxed out contract, people that actually follow the NBA know it is not about the money.
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I look at box scores frequently. The most typical wiggs box score has about 20-25 points with 2-4 rebounds and 1-2 assists. For someone with that much athletic ability he should be posting triple doubles on occasion in my opinion. It’s really interesting the contrast in my viewpoint of OAD Wiggins and OAD Embiid from the gsame class. I can’t get enough of Joel, and Wiggs, I just have pride in that he starts and scores some, but he really seems to be lacking drive and motivation other than to be good enough to earn a nice fat paycheck.
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@wissox Seems a continuation of Embiid’s and Wiggs’ respective college personas but like you, I can’t get enough of either one.
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@wissox Wiggs new contract is pretty nice, but I agree. He never really seems locked into the game or to be doing any of the little things, his FG% isn’t great and it’s very streaky. He has to start doing stuff to help the team more, like rebounding and getting assists. Most the time when I look at the box scores and he has over 20 points, he shot the ball 15+ times to get it. He is by all accounts a great guy and has the skills to be in the league for a long but him KO, drove me nuts in there one season. Both didn’t seem to any fire or hustle, they seemed to good to do the dirty work that wins games IMO.
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Those that imply those that follow the NBA realize this is not about money appear patently absurd.
Note: please place smears after the second buffer.
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@jaybate-1.0 Yeah, i mean kid could be an All Star and even all defensive team. But he just doesn’t want to put in that extra effort. He doesn’t have that “dog” in him either.
I suspect that Josh Jackson will be a better pro than Wiggins before too long. Josh IS the epitome of “dog” Kid gives his all and plays his butt off. Ive seen him post stat lines way more impressive than Wiggins this season.
Joel Embiid?? Its not even close. Joel IS an All Star, in his second season. He will continue to be an All Star, a game changer, a generational talent until his body wont let him any more.
