2014 NBA Draft Debate: Jabari Parker Or Andrew Wiggins?
By Nathan Giese
Why I’m Taking Andrew Wiggins – Frankie Hobbs
Labels get thrown onto prospects at an early age and it can be hard to shake them off. Throughout the draft process we have heard all about Jabari Parker’s NBA-readiness and Andrew Wiggins’ rawness.
Jabari Parker is seen as a “vastly superior offensive talent” at the moment. In all honesty, I don’t see the gap — if it even exists — being that big. Andrew Wiggins put up some very respectable college statistics: 17.1 points on 44.8 percent shooting. Not bad for someone painted as just a leaper.
Bill Self’s system is not known for making individual players stand out. Yet despite that, Wiggins managed to average 17 points a game. Duke last year was built around Jabari Parker, and yet he couldn’t outshine the “overly passive” Wiggins greatly.
This NBA-ready argument also might not be true. Jabari Parker has a nice shooting stroke, sure, but he might struggle to find a position in the NBA. He doesn’t possess the elite lateral quickness to guard 3s and he would get overpowered by stronger 4s. Matador defense? Defensive sieve? Yeah, I can see Parker being one of these guys.
Wiggins on the other hand, will come in and immediately make an impact on defense. The Canadian-born sensation should be able to guard point guards, shooting guards and small forwards. He is more versatile defensively than Parker and has a true position.
Tweeners often struggle in the NBA — Michael Beasley, Derrick Williams — and while I really like Parker, I fear he could be the next.
Wiggins will become a monster in transition, and is only beginning to tap into his vast potential. Look at Tracy McGrady and Paul George: It can sometimes take a while to really develop a rounded offensive game. You can create; teach and modify an offensive game. You can’t teach a first step like Wiggins.
I would draft Wiggins before Parker for a plethora of reasons. He can be a defensive game changer; already has a nice offensive game and has a whole lot more things he could add; and has a position to guard. There isn’t really a situation where I could see Wiggins not working out.
This isn’t to say I hate Parker as a prospect. In fact, I think he’ll turn out to be a fine NBA player. I just feel that Wiggins will become the better player once he gets into the NBA. He’ll thrive of NBA spacing and will enjoy the less-coached game.
It’s all a matter of opinions though. What can’t be denied is that we have two fine prospects on our hands.