Minnesota Timberwolves: My Fears For Andrew Wiggins, Part 1
There are plenty of bad teams in the NFL, and an even bigger collection of bad starting quarterbacks. But not all of those teams lead SportsCenter in their futility of elicit roundtable discussions of their bright-light train wreck quite like the New York Jets.
Sure, they’ve dug themselves something of a hole by continuing to employ Rex Ryan (who I actually like a lot) but handcuffing the hell out of him, starting a quarterback that no one but them seems to be sold on but them, and trying to quench the thirst of a desperate fan base that talks a little more than they should.
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It’s too bad for both Rex and Geno Smith. The coach can only work with what he is given. Have you seen that Jet secondary? And Geno, well, a lot of the time I like what I see out of him. It’s just those three plays a game where you shake your head and wonder what could possibly have been going through his.
But when you look at the lack of legitimate NFL talents he has to throw to you have to wonder whether he is doing something reasonable out of a situation that is totally unreasonable. I happen to think so. But he’s a quarterback, in New York, and someone who already derives strong feelings in all his observers, defending or brutally criticizing.
And then I think about Andrew Wiggins. He’s the new golden boy of Minnesota and the guy who has been appointed by the fans as better than Kevin Love. Better because he is more athletic and more hyped and will have a highlight offensive play every night and will play elite defense from the moment he steps on the floor for the first time.
And better because he’s not a diva and not from California and one of us because he’s Canadian and that that makes him a good, wholesome boy who wouldn’t dare make demands or leave because our types would not do such a thing.
It sounds ridiculous, but the tenor of the talk that I have heard from people in Minnesota, more excited for a Minnesota Timberwolves season than they ever have been, sounds a lot like this. And I’m worried about it.
I don’t think Wiggins is Geno Smith, and I think that the NBA is better set up for a player to succeed even if the cast around him isn’t exactly up to snuff, but I wonder how fans and analysts and pundits will react to a 19-year-old kid who has even more attention than a typical first overall pick, now labeled as the guy the Cavs gave up to seal the deal with LeBron James.
So am I scared about Wiggins the player? Not at all. He’s going to be great and I fully believe that. But I watched him closely at Kansas, and I was frustrated a lot of the time by his passive nature.
That team needed Wiggins to be the alpha dog and take over games, regardless of what labels people may have put one him. Aside from a few outlier games, Wiggins wasn’t this. Can he just turn on that aggression once he steps foot in the NBA, surrounded by veteran players that he is desperate to forge a good relationship with? I’m not so sure.
The nature of fans and pundits is overreaction. Prisoners of the moment I like to term it. Especially under the circumstances in which the Wolves got Wiggins, I know that the expectations are unrealistic. Is it going to take LeBron’s rookie year to satisfy people? Kevin Durant’s? Even if the Wolves exceed expectations, all anyone is going to want to talk about is how Wiggins is progressing, or not progressing as quickly as people want.
I trust Wiggins. It’s the people I don’t trust. I hope that aw-shucks Canadian kid doesn’t let it get to him because it’s coming. And it will be outrageous. Even Geno has nothing on this kid.