Ever since Kevin Garnett left the Minnesota Timberwolves, there have been several players that have come here in hopes of changing the culture of one of the NBA’s most cursed franchises.
As Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio flamed out, Kevin Love showed up and piled up the stats, but not the wins as the Wolves continued to reside at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
As Love finally had enough of the three-ring circus at the Target Center, the next ray of hope came in the trade that sent him out of Minnesota in the form of Andrew Wiggins.
One look at Wiggins’ scouting reports ahead of the 2014 NBA Draft was enough to get Wolves fans excited with comments such as “unlimited upside” and “the most highly touted prospect since LeBron James,” but none of that has materialized even with the Wolves adding Karl-Anthony Towns beside him.
As we enter this season, Wiggins is one of the most disappointing players on the Wolves’ roster and many are wondering whether he’ll even come close to the high expectations that were placed on the former No. 1 overall pick
According to ESPN’s Top 100 NBA players list, that’s a nope as Wiggins wasn’t even listed, prompting this response earlier this week.
“I don’t really look at that too much, top 100 or not top 100,” Wiggins told ESPN on Thursday. “There’s not 100 players better than me, so it doesn’t matter what people think. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My job is to come out here and hoop, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Such words don’t really seem like this snub is lighting a fire under Wiggins, but this has been his issue since coming to Minnesota. After Flip Saunders’ death, the now 24-year old never got on the same page as Tom Thibodeau and after Thibs dealt his friend Zach LaVine to the Chicago Bulls in the ill-fated Jimmy Butler trade, Wiggins has not looked as though he’s inspired to get the Wolves out of the doldrums.
Since being thrust into the face of the franchise role (though now he’s behind Towns), Wiggins has responded with an attitude that got him a massive contract extension when owner Glen Taylor “looked him in the eyes” and decided he was worth it, but hasn’t done much since. That’s led to awkward moments since a Doris Burke rant last January about Wiggins’ passive attitude on the court.
That’s created an issue. Wiggins has the talent to be one of the best (in this case) 100 players in the NBA, but he seems to put no intent to show it.
Moving without the ball, demanding it in key situations and doing anything to help his team win seem like secondary motives to him and with a track record that has lasted five years, it’s questionable whether Wiggins will get it this season or ever get it.
The NBA is a game of superstars and the days of having one player carry a team (like Garnett used to do in the 2000s) are pretty much over. The Timberwolves need Wiggins to step up and be that player he believes he is for them to succeed and make noise in a loaded Western Conference. If not, Wolves fans will feel just as lethargic about this team as Wiggins looks on the court.
