Andrew Wiggins has been the subject of a lot of criticism over the past several years and now he has been left off of the ESPN top 100 players list.
Andre Wiggins Suffers Another Snub
There was a time when people were saying that Andrew Wiggins was the best high school player since LeBron James. If that seems far fetched now, that’s because it is. He clearly has not lived up to that type of expectation and the backlash over the past few years has been swift. It’s not just that he didn’t become the next LeBron, many people feel he hasn’t even become the best version of himself.
Anyone who watches him play comes away with the same impression. He never looks like he’s playing hard or particularly interested. That didn’t stop the Minnesota Timberwolves from giving him a $147 million max contract in 2017. If they had to do it over again, I’m not sure they pay him that money. Last season he shot 41% from the field which was a career low. It’s not the best way to reward your franchise for believing in you.
Wiggins Says Snub Doesn’t Bother Him
The snub by ESPN is just another in a long line of criticism that has been thrown Wiggins’ way over the last few years. “I don’t really look at that too much, top 100 or not top 100,” Andrew Wiggins was quoted as saying. The last two seasons haven’t been easy on Wiggins who had to deal with the rage of Jimmy Butler. That story is old at this point but also one of the strangest in NBA history.
There had been whispers before that about Wiggins not living up to his potential but Butler’s criticism raised those whispers into a crescendo. By the time Butler left town for Philly, all eyes went back to Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns. Anyone that watches KAT play can never accuse him of not looking interested. He doesn’t always play great defense but if Wiggins hasn’t fulfilled his potential, the same can’t be said about KAT. As for Wiggins, once Butler was gone, so were the excuses. As his play continued to get worse in Butler’s absence, so did the criticism of Wiggins game.
Not Wiggins Fault he Got Paid
If a franchise trades for you as the number one pick, they hope to one day offer you a max extension. That is usually a sign that you’ve done everything they hoped and their investing in a future with you as the face of the franchise. That’s what happened for Andrew Wiggins until Jimmy Butler ruined it. That part is obviously more complicated than that but lets ask one question, would the Wolves have been better off paying Butler than Wiggins?
If we’re talking about winning right now, then yes they should have given Butler that money. To be clear, a team consisting of Butler and KAT as your best players are probably not winning an NBA title. It’s a nice duo to have but that team as it was constructed had a ton of holes. Tom Thibideau has since been relieved his duties. The past is the past so Andrew Wiggins still has plenty of time to finish the narrative of his basketball story. This is only year six for Wiggins so to say he is the finished product is a bit naïve. That being said, talk is cheap and at present, until we see the desire to be better from Wiggins, it’s all talk and nothing more.
