Former Cav Andrew Wiggins: Catching Up and ‘What If?’
When the Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the world and won the NBA Draft Lottery, Andrew Wiggins was seen as the next Cavs star. Wiggins would help finally replace LeBron James as the Cavs star wing. Then something amazing happened that changed the course of both the Cavs and the NBA: LeBron decided to come home. In his letter he didn’t mention Mr. Wiggins and soon murmurs began that Kevin Love would be traded to Cleveland in a package for the future wing star. The trade went down and there is changing that but we can ask “What if?”
Today we catch up on what Andrew Wiggins has been up to with the Minnesota Timberwolves and then think about what might have been if Wiggins, and not Love, was running with the Cavs.
Wiggins has started all 72 games for the T’Wolves and is averaging almost 36 minutes, 16 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and 1 steal per game. He is also turning the ball over at a high rate of 2 per game. His 3 point shot, something many were concerned about coming out of college hasn’t been good, 33% per game, but he is taking less than 2 per, a sign he understands his weakness.
For the Timberwolves, a team going nowhere, getting Wiggins time on the court, putting the ball in his hands and giving him freedom has been the goal. Flip Saunders is allowing Wiggins to develop through experience. ESPN’s Rookie Watch guy David Thorpe is very impressed with Wiggins:
"Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins and Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic have been the top two rookies for much of the season. Wiggins has been named the West’s Rookie of the Month every month, while Mirotic has made a late-season surge thanks to increased minutes. But Mirotic’s only chance at winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award is if he continues his torrid play and Wiggins falters mightily.Well, nothing Wiggins is doing suggests he’s about to hit any kind of wall. We are seeing a young player who is impacting games offensively in a variety of ways — with skill, craft and athleticism — that can get even better over time.In fact, last week’s performance against Portland could go down as Wiggins’ signature game because of how he scored his 18 points in the win. Wiggins made eight field goals, scoring each basket in a different way:"
Thorpe went on to show all the different ways that Wiggins scored his 8 field goals in that Insider piece. Needless to say, Wiggins has lived up to the hype surrounding him. He looks like he will be a great defender, high athlete, hard working star in this league. He has the upside to improve a variety of areas of his game and seems to have the drive to do so.
Even with that, we are still left with the question “What If?” What if the Cavs didn’t move Wiggins, along with Anthony Bennett and a 1st round pick, for Kevin Love? First, we will still assume that LeBron would have come home, despite many assuming it would not have happened. Second, we then have to make some assumptions about what the Cavs may have done in trades to try to improve the roster.
With Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins and LeBron James starting on the perimeter, the Cavs would have had a bunch of athletes. Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao would have likely started inside, unless a different deal was made. The Cavs would have had very little spacing with that group, with Irving being the lone knock down shooter.
LeBron would have likely gotten frustrated by the turnovers of Wiggins and GM David Griffin, as he did in the real season, would have sought more shooting to surround his stars. Dion Waiters would have likely been moved and J.R. Smith would have been a welcome addition to the team.
Wiggins would have gotten far fewer touches, far less freedom to grow and could have struggled under the strong willed LeBron. Love would have likely been dealt to Golden State and the Cavs would have been left scouring for any type of big man with shooting prowess. Instead of looking for a shot blocker, a spacer may have been #1 on Griffin’s list. LeBron would have been forced to play the Stretch 4 spot that he has been resistant to do.
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So “What If” the Cleveland Cavaliers had not traded Andrew Wiggins and parts for Kevin Love? The Cavs and Wiggins would likely be worse, the Warriors and Love might be even better and the Cavs would have been looking for both a stretch big man and a shot blocker via trades.
At least for this season it turned out much better for the Cavs and Andrew Wiggins for them to have moved on from him. What the future holds is a different question.
What do you think about Andrew Wiggins season and how it would have been different if he was still a Cav?