Canada vs. Argentina

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

If Wiggins is going to be a great NBA player he should dominate in a tournament like this with a full NBA season under his belt. Or at least dominate one or two games. Imagine what Kevin Durant would have done in a tournament like this after his first NBA season. Or imagine others like Russell Westbrook, MJ, Allen Iverson or Kevin Garnett.

Keep in mind that Westbrook didn't average 20 PPG until his 3rd season in the NBA. Steph Curry didn't average 20 PPG until his 4th. Paul George took a few years before he broke out as a scorer. Harden took a few years too, although in his defense, he joined a stacked OKC team and came off the bench. And....all those guys came into the league with at least two years of college under their belt.

I think Wiggins' trajectory (as a scorer) is going to be a bit lumpy and similar to the aforementioned players. He isn't 'Melo or Durant, who basically have a sixth sense when it comes to scoring the ball. Both those guys walked into the league and put up 20+ PPG from day one without breaking much of a sweat. Wiggins seems to labor at it a bit more whereas those guys just flat out have a nose for getting the ball in the hoop by hook or crook.

Bottom line....While I'm intrigued by his performance in these games, I'm not going to go into meltdown mode if he struggles at times or looks just so-so. Then again, I never thought of Wiggins as a no-brainer superstar, so I'm just hoping for someone that eventually matures into a very strong 2-way player. And if he becomes a superstar in the end, all the better!

[Monster]

I like the angle Q is coming from. Wiggins doesn't have that offensive skill he can just rely on to get points. He is skilled but not quite there yet. On the other hand he projected to be a well above average defender which some of the other guys that were named that are offensive threats most were just hoping for them to be decent on that end. In addition wiggins is coming into a team where a lot of these guys have already played a tourney together and it's a pretty decently talented group so it's not like he should be going all Dieng on these teams. Lol

I didn't see the game but Bennett seems to deserve some love for his efficient stat line 6/9 for 13 points and 6 Rebs in 21 mins. It sounds like he got in foul trouble but I don't mind that I like him playing aggressive. This dunk was pretty fun.

http://youtu.be/iybV2dILSUI

[Lipoli390]

If Wiggins is going to be a great NBA player he should dominate in a tournament like this with a full NBA season under his belt. Or at least dominate one or two games. Imagine what Kevin Durant would have done in a tournament like this after his first NBA season. Or imagine others like Russell Westbrook, MJ, Allen Iverson or Kevin Garnett.

Keep in mind that Westbrook didn't average 20 PPG until his 3rd season in the NBA. Steph Curry didn't average 20 PPG until his 4th. Paul George took a few years before he broke out as a scorer. Harden took a few years too, although in his defense, he joined a stacked OKC team and came off the bench. And....all those guys came into the league with at least two years of college under their belt.

I think Wiggins' trajectory (as a scorer) is going to be a bit lumpy and similar to the aforementioned players. He isn't 'Melo or Durant, who basically have a sixth sense when it comes to scoring the ball. Both those guys walked into the league and put up 20+ PPG from day one without breaking much of a sweat. Wiggins seems to labor at it a bit more whereas those guys just flat out have a nose for getting the ball in the hoop by hook or crook.

Bottom line....While I'm intrigued by his performance in these games, I'm not going to go into meltdown mode if he struggles at times or looks just so-so. Then again, I never thought of Wiggins as a no-brainer superstar, so I'm just hoping for someone that eventually matures into a very strong 2-way player. And if he becomes a superstar in the end, all the better!

Good points, Q. I know it takes some players a few years to become NBA stars as scorers. But I'd bet that Westbrook and Curry would have dominated after their first NBA seasons against that caliber competition. And I have yet to see Wiggins dominate in any non-scoring phase of the game against any competition.

I'm not in meltdown mode over this. I still think Wiggins had a very impressive rookie season and deserved his ROY award. I see his big upside based on his physical gifts. But he has a long way to go to reach his potential.

[bleedspeed]

I am going to go on record and say Wiggins will never lead the league in scoring.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Man just think how great this team would be if AB surprised us and started kicking ass this year.

-Wishful thinking

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Man just think how great this team would be if AB surprised us and started kicking ass this year.

-Wishful thinking

Never going to happen for the Timberwolves.

[bleedspeed]

It is really to bad AB and Wiggins play for team Canada. Especially Wiggins. It would be great for him to play with better players.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

It is really to bad AB and Wiggins play for team Canada. Especially Wiggins. It would be great for him to play with better players.

Bleed, I'm not sure where you are coming from on this. They have a fairly talent-laden squad with multiple NBA players. Besides team USA, what other national team has a significant talent advantage over Canada? Spain perhaps, but I can't really think of anyone else.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

This is a side comment, and it's not important at all in the discussion of how great Wiggins or Towns will be, but does anybody else wish they were from USA and played for USA? There's something awesome about knowing your NBA team has a gold medalist, and we'll never have that with those two (USA's too dominant in that setting). Not to mention, when teammates play together at Olympic competitions, they seem to grow together. I remember Steph and Klay talking about it last season and before that, I want to say DeMarcus and Rudy said it brought them closer. I bet KD and Russ, CP3 and Blake made comments as well, but I can't say that for sure. Our guys will play for teams that have no shot at winning gold, and will have to do Herculean things to get them to that level.

I don't know. Just a thought.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Man just think how great this team would be if AB surprised us and started kicking ass this year.

-Wishful thinking

It is definitely wishful thinking, but not preposterously so. AB has shown some flashes of brilliance at the pro level, but overall has played poorly in his first two years in the NBA. But he was dominant in college just two years ago, and looks solid in FIBA play so far. AB's issue isn't talent...it's confidence. There are a lot of guys who you know are never going to make it in the NBA because they just aren't talented enough...that's not Bennett. Either he will become a starter or at least a regular rotation player, or he will become another high draft choice who just couldn't cut it at the NBA level.

The experience of playing with Wiggins in international play and contributing every bit as much as Andrew is has to be helpful for his confidence. His stats were good and efficient in limited minutes yesterday, and he scored both inside and out (1 for 2 on threes). I'm interested in seeing if they bounce back strong against Cuba today (the game is being played right now). If they can have a long run in the tournament and AB contributes to their success, he will likely build a strong rapport with Wiggins...and I wouldn't be surprised if Wiggins lobbies hard for his teammate once training camp starts next month.

But he needs to keep playing well in Mex City to keep Flip's interest.