Wiggins Ceiling and floor?

[Coolbreeze44]

Q, do you know what a ceiling is? It's the biggest blue sky outcome. You think his CEILING may be Jimmy Butler?

Perhaps we view ceiling a bit differently. I look at it as something still within the realm of decent odds and not necessarily what might be mathematically possible. Mathematically, Wiggins' ceiling is the greatest player to ever play the game. But in terms of what I consider a realistic ceiling, I think of Paul George or Jimmy Butler. Butler is a damn good player. His name has been brought up as an MVP candidate - I'm not sure how that's a slight against Wiggins' potential.

Once you get past Butler and George, then you get into some pretty heady territory at the next tier up when it comes to wings. Durant, LeBron, Kobe, Wade, Jordan.....I'm not seeing it. I'd love to be wrong though!

Q, you're a Philly guy right? What do you think of the Doc J comparison?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I don't see the Dr. J in Wiggins. Not even a little bit, honestly.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Over the last two months, he's looked a lot like this guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpf6uNb01Es

[Coolbreeze44]

Over the last two months, he's looked a lot like this guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpf6uNb01Es

How old are you? Do you remember Doc?

[thedoper]

Over the last two months, he's looked a lot like this guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpf6uNb01Es

How old are you? Do you remember Doc?

I see a lot of Elgin Baylor based on what my dad has told me about him.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Wow, we're going old school here - Dr. J and Elgin Baylor!?

Cool, While I live in Philly now, I have "only" been here for about 10 yrs, making me far removed from the Dr. J days. And even I'm a little too young to really remember how he played anyway. I saw him on the old CBS games in the 80s, but by then he was in his 30s.

The sense I have is that Dr. J's size and athleticism as a wing was much more of an advantage over his peers compared to what Wiggins has today. Andrew still has out-of-this world athleticism, but the gap probably isn't as wide. Dr. J also had massive hands, so I suspect his rebounding numbers would be tough for Wiggins to match.

One area Wiggins may ultimately have an advantage over Dr. J in is outside shooting.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I keep coming back to style when I watch Wiggins.

The T-Mac comparisons don't work for me because their style is so different. T-Mac was all about smooth crossovers and pull-up fadeaways, and stuff like that. He was a much more fluid player. The AI, JR Smith, Gerald Green school of player. Stylistically, Wiggins is more like Rose, Westbrook, or LeBron (in style, people, nowhere near the size or passing of LeBron, Wiggins just will never have the impact of LeBron obviously, but who else would, Jordan? that's about it, LeBron is amazing people). Wiggins looks stiff, but he's efficient. Doesn't seem to take too many off balance shots. Actually, Wiggins' pogo-stick jump shot reminds me a little of a cross between Westbrook's and Ray Allen's shot.

Statistically, I still think Shawn Marion in his prime is still a decent comparison for what Wiggins could realistically end up doing. Marion could do it all and was arguably the MVP there for a year or two. Wiggins definitely should end up being a better scorer, but he's not quite the rebounder that Marion was. I really hope Wiggins ends up making an impact with steals and blocks like Marion did in his prime too. Marion was really athletic too, though not so much as Wiggins I think, and both have a kind of stiff, mechanical style. But boy, Wiggins' shot looks a WHOLE lot better than Marion's terrible mechanics. That's why that comparison is more statistical than stylistic, but there's a comparison to be made.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I keep coming back to style when I watch Wiggins.

The T-Mac comparisons don't work for me because their style is so different. T-Mac was all about smooth crossovers and pull-up fadeaways, and stuff like that. He was a much more fluid player. The AI, JR Smith, Gerald Green school of player. Stylistically, Wiggins is more like Rose, Westbrook, or LeBron (in style, people, nowhere near the size or passing of LeBron, Wiggins just will never have the impact of LeBron obviously, but who else would, Jordan? that's about it, LeBron is amazing people). Wiggins looks stiff, but he's efficient. Doesn't seem to take too many off balance shots. Actually, Wiggins' pogo-stick jump shot reminds me a little of a cross between Westbrook's and Ray Allen's shot.

Statistically, I still think Shawn Marion in his prime is still a decent comparison for what Wiggins could realistically end up doing. Marion could do it all and was arguably the MVP there for a year or two. Wiggins definitely should end up being a better scorer, but he's not quite the rebounder that Marion was. I really hope Wiggins ends up making an impact with steals and blocks like Marion did in his prime too. Marion was really athletic too, though not so much as Wiggins I think, and both have a kind of stiff, mechanical style. But boy, Wiggins' shot looks a WHOLE lot better than Marion's terrible mechanics. That's why that comparison is more statistical than stylistic, but there's a comparison to be made.

Heh, I actually think Marion may be a worse comparison than T-Mac! I remember prime Marion so well because he was such a coveted fantasy player - such a rare combination of great production in multiple categories.

Generally when it comes to things like steals, rebounds, and blocked shots, what you see is pretty much what you get fairly early in a player's career. I just can't possibly see Wiggins averaging 10+ rebounds, 2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game - or even coming close to that, especially with rebounding. That's what prime Marion was doing.

Where I do see further improvement for Wiggins is in the shooting and scoring categories along with assists. I think those are the areas that he'll eventually surpass Marion on.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I was fortunate to see Elgin Baylor live for two seasons when I was a young kid...in fact, he was my first pro sports hero (as I recall, he averaged close to 25-15-5 his rookie season, although he had to stay at a "Negro hotel" when the Lakers traveled to St. Louis!). And I will agree that there are some similarities with his game and Wiggins. Drew will never be the rebounder that Baylor was (without a doubt, the greatest rebounder shorter than 6'6" ever), but there are some similarities in their offensive games. As a rookie, Baylor showed the ability to hang in the air freakishly long and score inside, and Wiggins has shown the same ability. Baylor was considered an elite athlete in his day, but there's no question that Wiggins is an even better athlete. I also think Wiggins has the potential to emulate Baylor as a creative distributor...I've already seen some extraordinary vision on his part at a very young age. Baylor without the rebounding is a pretty solid ceiling for Wiggins, and he will be fun to watch if he gets anywhere close.