Minnesota Sports Forum

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

Big O wrote:Just to be clear I'm not saying Wiggins is going to be traded but in the same way someone suggested that Dunn's value is at a peak, Wiggins may never be as good as everyone predicts and if offered an all star still in his prime I would consider the possibility of a trade.

It is interesting how Rush has seamlessly stepped in over the last two pre-season games and our starting unit hasn't missed a beat. What happens is KAT and LaVine get more shots while Rush spaces the floor and gives everyone more room to operate.

I think where we'll really need Wiggins is on wing defense. As much as I rail on him for not accumulating more "do shit" stats (rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, charges taken), if he can become a shutdown defender on the wing, that will be huge. But if his defense is inconsistent, then all he is is a volume scorer, which we can kind of cover for with Towns, LaVine, and Shabazz when Wiggins is out.

All he is is a volume scorer? C'mon man.

If he's not getting better defensively... and doesn't expand other parts of his game offensively...

... what else would he be? That's not to say those things will happen. But it's not like Wiggins is a well-rounded player right now. He can score but he needs volume to do so.

Yeah, he sucks

Has anybody ever said that on this forum?

Definitely not in this thread.

Just get tired of the nitpicking on Wiggins game. Rookie of the year and a 20 point scorer in his second season. Probably the most athletic player in the game and he's what, 21? I just don't understand the problem.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

Big O wrote:Just to be clear I'm not saying Wiggins is going to be traded but in the same way someone suggested that Dunn's value is at a peak, Wiggins may never be as good as everyone predicts and if offered an all star still in his prime I would consider the possibility of a trade.

It is interesting how Rush has seamlessly stepped in over the last two pre-season games and our starting unit hasn't missed a beat. What happens is KAT and LaVine get more shots while Rush spaces the floor and gives everyone more room to operate.

I think where we'll really need Wiggins is on wing defense. As much as I rail on him for not accumulating more "do shit" stats (rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, charges taken), if he can become a shutdown defender on the wing, that will be huge. But if his defense is inconsistent, then all he is is a volume scorer, which we can kind of cover for with Towns, LaVine, and Shabazz when Wiggins is out.

All he is is a volume scorer? C'mon man.

If he's not getting better defensively... and doesn't expand other parts of his game offensively...

... what else would he be? That's not to say those things will happen. But it's not like Wiggins is a well-rounded player right now. He can score but he needs volume to do so.

Yeah, he sucks

Has anybody ever said that on this forum?

Definitely not in this thread.

Just get tired of the nitpicking on Wiggins game. Rookie of the year and a 20 point scorer in his second season. Probably the most athletic player in the game and he's what, 21? I just don't understand the problem.

Sorta like abandoning ship on Dunn before he has even played an NBA game... ;-)

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Just get tired of the nitpicking on Wiggins game. Rookie of the year and a 20 point scorer in his second season. Probably the most athletic player in the game and he's what, 21? I just don't understand the problem.

Totally get where you're coming from. At the same time he was largely the same player in year two as he was in year one. If he had shown signs of being an elite defensive player that he projected to be pre-draft then I think people would be a little less wary. As Timberwolves fans we've had more than our share of high potential, high lottery picks that turned into pumpkins instead of All Stars.

If at the end of this season, with a year of Thibs coaching he hasn't shown signs of that defensive prowess I think the fears are going to be very legit and his potential trade value will fall like a rock.

Here is where I'm coming from with Wiggins. His primary strength right now is scoring. We have a few guys that can score and create shots, not just Andrew. What that means is that when Wiggins is out of the game, it's less of an issue because it simply means these other really talented players take more shots. These last couple of pre-season games KAT, LaVine, Bjelly and Shabazz made up for those missing shots. We did fine.

Now, if they were all more inefficient at it than Wiggins, that would be a problem. Give inferior shooters/scorers more shots and they become even more inefficient. Think about what would happen if Rubio was asked to double his shot output - it would not be pretty. But these guys are all solidly efficient or better. So they are taking more shots and scoring at an efficient rate without Wiggins.

Of course ultimately him missing gives us one less potential mismatch to exploit and teams can put their best wing defender on Zach or Shabazz. Ultimately it's a good thing that he can score and put pressure on the defense, but I just feel like his game is easier to cover when he's out versus, say, Rubio or KAT when they are out.

What would make him hugely invaluable, however, is not his scoring, but his wing defense. If he can become an elite wing defender, then he gives us something none of the other guys can give us (meaning the other wings - LaVine, Bazz, and Rush). I'm pretty optimistic he'll get there under Thibs, but we'll just have to see. If he becomes a top-flight wing defender, than in my opinion he's right up there in importance to the team that Rubio and KAT are now.