Wiggins in a peculiar situation

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Since day one as a rookie with the Wolves, Wiggins has been given huge responsibilities. In his three seasons with the Wolves, he has been the #1A or 1B offensive option and assigned to guard the opposing team's best wing. The results have been mixed. He is the team's best shot creator and puts enormous pressure on an opposing defense, yet he is one of the least efficient 20+ PPG scorers in the NBA. Defensively, he's shown the ability to guard well in one-on-one iso situations, but is extremely lackluster in help situations, fighting through screens, and often falls asleep when his man is off the ball or in transition.

Now we add Butler, who is basically everything we had originally hoped Wiggins would become - a two way monster and top 15 player. We also added a PG that has been the 2nd leading scorer for his prior two teams.

What this means now is that Wiggins suddenly finds himself in a situation where his responsibilities will be fewer (two examples: 1) instead of "point Wiggins" sets, we'll see "point Butler" sets as a secondary ball handler to Teague; 2) Butler will likely be assigned to guard the opponent's best wing).

How will Wiggins react? In theory, the narrower responsibilities put upon his shoulders should lead to more efficient offense, more effort plays, and better overall defense. Or will he dis-engage and not make his presence felt as much as he should given his prodigious athletic gifts?

The irony is that I believe the success of our season largely rests on him. We know what Butler and Teague bring to the table. Butler especially puts us in the playoff mix. But whether we are clawing and scratching for the 8th seed or firmly entrenched in the top 6 is largely a matter of whether he makes the most of his new, reduced responsibilities.

[mjs34]

I expect we will see Wiggins regress this season, and will ultimately result in his being traded in the off season. His one strength is going to be severely limited in the amount of shots he gets. It's why I thought the Rubio move was a mistake, but I guess we will find out soon enough. Isnt' Wiggins up for his extension this off season?

[TAFKASP]

If Wiggins doesn't rise to the occasion then it's time to cash in that chip. If being on a loaded team with the chance to compete for a championship isn't enough to motivate him to be a two way impact player then nothing ever will.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Wig will be in a different role this season, and the optimistic side of me thinks he will thrive in it. Not being the go-to guy in the clutch in either offense or defense seems to match Wig's laid back philosophy, and I see him being one of the most productive #3 options in the league this year. I'm looking for a good year both for the Wolves and Wig.

However, as I have pointed out in the cap thread, one of Butler/KAT/Wig/Teague will be gone after two seasons...keeping all 4 puts the Wolves in a lux tax position that frankly would be untenable. Oddly, I see Tyus Jones being the key to whom the Wolves are going to let go. If he thrives this year and next as Teague's backup and gives Thibs confidence that he can run the show in three years, I think Thibs will max Wig after 2018-9 and let Teague walk...giving the keys to Tyus to bring out the best in a Big 3. I don't see this as an improbable situation, because Tyus has been a winner everywhere he has been prior to the NBA. But if Thibs doesn't trust Tyus and can't see a viable option other than Teague at PG, the writing on the wall is there for a Wig departure, and I see Wig likely being moved before the 2019 trade deadline. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[mjs34]

Wig will be in a different role this season, and the optimistic side of me thinks he will thrive in it. Not being the go-to guy in the clutch in either offense or defense seems to match Wig's laid back philosophy, and I see him being one of the most productive #3 options in the league this year. I'm looking for a good year both for the Wolves and Wig.

However, as I have pointed out in the cap thread, one of Butler/KAT/Wig/Teague will be gone after two seasons...keeping all 4 puts the Wolves in a lux tax position that frankly would be untenable. Oddly, I see Tyus Jones being the key to whom the Wolves are going to let go. If he thrives this year and next as Teague's backup and gives Thibs confidence that he can run the show in three years, I think Thibs will max Wig after 2018-9 and let Teague walk...giving the keys to Tyus to bring out the best in a Big 3. I don't see this as an improbable situation, because Tyus has been a winner everywhere he has been prior to the NBA. But if Thibs doesn't trust Tyus and can't see a viable option other than Teague at PG, the writing on the wall is there for a Wig departure, and I see Wig likely being moved before the 2019 trade deadline. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

WIggins is only signed through this year. He isn't going to be playing on a QO, so he has to be signed at the latest next summer.

If you are depending on Tyus, I would trade Wig right now.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Wig will be in a different role this season, and the optimistic side of me thinks he will thrive in it. Not being the go-to guy in the clutch in either offense or defense seems to match Wig's laid back philosophy, and I see him being one of the most productive #3 options in the league this year. I'm looking for a good year both for the Wolves and Wig.

However, as I have pointed out in the cap thread, one of Butler/KAT/Wig/Teague will be gone after two seasons...keeping all 4 puts the Wolves in a lux tax position that frankly would be untenable. Oddly, I see Tyus Jones being the key to whom the Wolves are going to let go. If he thrives this year and next as Teague's backup and gives Thibs confidence that he can run the show in three years, I think Thibs will max Wig after 2018-9 and let Teague walk...giving the keys to Tyus to bring out the best in a Big 3. I don't see this as an improbable situation, because Tyus has been a winner everywhere he has been prior to the NBA. But if Thibs doesn't trust Tyus and can't see a viable option other than Teague at PG, the writing on the wall is there for a Wig departure, and I see Wig likely being moved before the 2019 trade deadline. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

WIggins is only signed through this year. He isn't going to be playing on a QO, so he has to be signed at the latest next summer.

If you are depending on Tyus, I would trade Wig right now.

Thx for the clarification, sjm. I'm not ready to give up on Tyus, but I don't sense that Thibs is sold on him. It was one of my frustrations with Thibs last year...the Wolves' winning percentage in games where Tyus played significant minutes was significantly better than when he didn't (having as much to do with Dunn's lack of NBA readiness, I'm afraid). Maybe with increased minutes Tyus can gain Thibs; confidence. If not, I see the Wolves quietly making Wig available around the first of the year.

My hope is that we keep Wig though, so I'm hoping Tyus can really impress Thibs the first half of the year.

[Monster]

Personally I've never seen Wiggins as the alpha give me the ball get outta my way or else guy all the time. He seems willing to make the right play. The issue is his skill set handling the ball doesn't always allow for him to be the guy that is really good at creating for others and that affects his passing because passing off the dribble is dependent a lot on how you can handle the ball. He is a young player with pretty good BBIQ offensively and yet obviously is young and needs to improve there. He has been giving responsibility to score a lot because...a lot of his career they needed him to be that and now where we are at you can see why 3 coaches have given him that load. He can flat out score even with deficiencies that have improved handling the ball and shooting.

Will it be interesting how he blends with this team? Yeah but I'm not wringing my hands about it. On one hand you could be worried if they sort of stood pat and just added some nice players around the young guys...but what if they don't progress enough? Could we have some legit worried about someone leaving at some point? Sure. Same deal now. What this current group gives you is a team that could contend now and so you can get the bigtime experience for these young guys and show them how to function in a really good team. It's seriously almost like taking these guys from their NBA teams and putting them on the Olympic team...ok not quite but the difference is gonna be pretty stark.

The Wolves are gonna max Wiggins there is no doubt about that and if they decide they want to move him he will bring back a significant return if he is healthy. I'm just going to enjoy this and quit worrying about what will happen 14 months from now or whatever. There are just too many variables that are relatively hard to predict.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I think Wiggins is gonna struggle in this new role. He was a floater in college and he's not gonna be able to go get the ball here with Jimmy and Teague. Hopefully he picks up his off-ball activity, but for now I'll side with history and predict he's gonna struggle without being forced into the offense. As long as he stays behind the 3pt line and takes the shot when the ball is kicked to him I think he can be useful. We'll see. I really like Wiggins, but a reduced role at least on paper doesn't have a great outlook for his production. He's always been a guy you have to run offense through specifically to get him involved in the game because he tends to float when he's not directly involved in the offense. Maybe the key is to design more sets that have him moving off the ball. I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see.

[TheFuture]

Wig will be in a different role this season, and the optimistic side of me thinks he will thrive in it. Not being the go-to guy in the clutch in either offense or defense seems to match Wig's laid back philosophy, and I see him being one of the most productive #3 options in the league this year. I'm looking for a good year both for the Wolves and Wig.

However, as I have pointed out in the cap thread, one of Butler/KAT/Wig/Teague will be gone after two seasons...keeping all 4 puts the Wolves in a lux tax position that frankly would be untenable. Oddly, I see Tyus Jones being the key to whom the Wolves are going to let go. If he thrives this year and next as Teague's backup and gives Thibs confidence that he can run the show in three years, I think Thibs will max Wig after 2018-9 and let Teague walk...giving the keys to Tyus to bring out the best in a Big 3. I don't see this as an improbable situation, because Tyus has been a winner everywhere he has been prior to the NBA. But if Thibs doesn't trust Tyus and can't see a viable option other than Teague at PG, the writing on the wall is there for a Wig departure, and I see Wig likely being moved before the 2019 trade deadline. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

WIggins is only signed through this year. He isn't going to be playing on a QO, so he has to be signed at the latest next summer.

If you are depending on Tyus, I would trade Wig right now.

It makes the most sense to wait until next summer, similar to the Otto Porter situation? Allows us to sign players before we sign him to that big contract, and potential (will) hold another team's $ for 3 days.

[mjs34]

Wig will be in a different role this season, and the optimistic side of me thinks he will thrive in it. Not being the go-to guy in the clutch in either offense or defense seems to match Wig's laid back philosophy, and I see him being one of the most productive #3 options in the league this year. I'm looking for a good year both for the Wolves and Wig.

However, as I have pointed out in the cap thread, one of Butler/KAT/Wig/Teague will be gone after two seasons...keeping all 4 puts the Wolves in a lux tax position that frankly would be untenable. Oddly, I see Tyus Jones being the key to whom the Wolves are going to let go. If he thrives this year and next as Teague's backup and gives Thibs confidence that he can run the show in three years, I think Thibs will max Wig after 2018-9 and let Teague walk...giving the keys to Tyus to bring out the best in a Big 3. I don't see this as an improbable situation, because Tyus has been a winner everywhere he has been prior to the NBA. But if Thibs doesn't trust Tyus and can't see a viable option other than Teague at PG, the writing on the wall is there for a Wig departure, and I see Wig likely being moved before the 2019 trade deadline. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

WIggins is only signed through this year. He isn't going to be playing on a QO, so he has to be signed at the latest next summer.

If you are depending on Tyus, I would trade Wig right now.

It makes the most sense to wait until next summer, similar to the Otto Porter situation? Allows us to sign players before we sign him to that big contract, and potential (will) hold another team's $ for 3 days.

What kind of signal does that send to Wig, when we re-signed Gorgui a year early?

Everyone realizes how Kahn/Glen disrespected Love with their comments about him not being a number one guy. Are we going to sit back and watch Thibs do something similar. This great young core is disappearing right in front of our eyes because Thibs doesn't have the patience to see the rebuild through. I want to win like everyone else, but I have a bad feeling we are going to be rebuilding with no assets in a few years.

Part of running a team is handling the personalities, and that is even more important with the younger guys today. I don't think Thibs understands that or doesn't really care.