Minnesota Timberwolves: Initial Takeaways From Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett With Team Canada

It was just a calendar year ago when the Minnesota Timberwolves officially traded away their then-highly touted franchise forward, Kevin Love, for a pair of former No. 1 overall draft picks (from the last two most recent drafts) in Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett.

In conjunction to being paired as the king’s ransom for Love — who had just enjoyed of a career season the year prior, averaging 26/12/4 — the duo also shares the distinction of being the only two Canadians ever to be picked with the first overall selection in an NBA draft.

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Thus, when the rumored trade finally turned into a celebrated reality, the Wolves effectively became Canada south (although it is a tad ironic to describe Minnesota “south” in any respect).  Canadians, from British Columbians to Québécois, all adopted the TimberPups as their adopted team — cheering for Wiggins, and to some extent, Bennett, at every opportunity.

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The similarities between the two end there, however, as they’ve had a drastically different initiation into the association, thus far.

Wiggins has, by all accounts, lived up to his much ballyhooed billing.

While he struggled initially to adapt to the NBA game, by December, when the team was decimated by injuries (an all too familiar story for Timerwolves fans), the willowy 6’8″ swingman would snatch the team’s reign and evolve into a throwback, pinch-post operating near-20 point per game scorer once the year 2015 officially began.

For Bennett, it has been a prolonged two-year struggle, to say the least. From unforeseen injuries — such as, dealing with sleep apnea, asthma, and a stubborn ankle sprain — to falling in-and-out of game shape, most pundits have already slapped the bust label on the artist affectionately known as “Big Daddy Canada.”

Such dire proclamations are not without merit. On the court, outside of the occasional uncontested dump-off dunk and bricking open 19-foot spot-up jumpers, Bennett has been — to put it bluntly — utterly useless.

Given their contrasting career trajectories, as a Wolves fan, and a proud Canadian, I was extremely anxious to get my first glimpse of the duo sporting the Maple Leaf red and white. More specifically, as Team Canada aims to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio via the 2015 FIBA Tournament of the Americas, the team traveled to Puerto Rico for an exhibition tune-up tournament.

Keep in mind, we’re working with a limited sample of four games, but this fully formed version of Canada has given us a sneak peak of what kind of progress Wiggins and Bennett have been making this offseason.

Andrew Wiggins

For the reigning ROY, other than sporting a sweet Julius Erving-esque afro, Wiggins has failed to really stand out through three games. He has, for the most part, let the game come to him; some may even go as far as describing his demeanor and play as “coasting”.

However, he simply has an extra gear and another level of athleticism his counterparts on this level blatantly lacks. When he’s been aggressive, more times than not, Wiggins have ended up on the foul line.

In addition, his one-dribble pull-up game looks as polished as ever. Not only is it extremely photogenic, it’s also crisp, compact, and efficient — combining his insane vertical leap with an ultra-quick release.

He was also, in spurts, much more active moving without the ball — especially during the second game against Brazil when he struggled to create offensively.

More specifically, he was running the floor hard, crashing the offensive boards with an intense fervor, and beat his man several times on back door cuts (although point guard Cory Joseph missed him on said opportunities — which is an exercise in court vision Ricky Rubio will not gaffe).

Wiggins, moreover, has clearly watched a ton of film since the season ended in mid-April.

When operating as the pick-and-roll handler, the 20 year-old neophyte has been much more patient in letting the play develop, ignoring the blinding temptation of honing in on the roller, and recognizing where the help is coming from, before delivering a pinpoint cross-court pass to an open spot-up shooter.

Physically, Wiggins does look a bit stouter. However, he’s still having troubles establishing prime post position. While Philip Scrubb (real name, no gimmicks) and Olivier Hanlan are not the most prudent of post entry passers, Andrew can still do a much better job of sealing his man and preventing the reach around steal.

As for his most glaring impediment, his ball-handling, Wiggins’ dribble still appears to be far too upright. Most of his drives are derived from waist-high hard charging forays going to his right — where he overwhelms the opposition with his blinding first step. A proposition that works quite efficiently on the international level, but will more times than not, fail to cut it in the association.

More alarmingly, when the lane is clogged, he’s still settling for his patented pull-back between-the-legs dribble, before stepping back for a contested long two — not the greatest shot in the world.

He’s also obviously not in a game shape yet. Most notably, the ferocious, posterizing finisher we saw at the end of the year is still hiding somewhere in the great lakes. Explicitly, Wiggins has missed a number of chippies in and around the basket thus far — eerily reminiscent to his days at Kansas.

However, he seem to have found his footing during Canada’s final contest in the tournament while facing Puerto Rico on their home turf, decisively giving their entire team a collective facial and extending Canada’s lead to five — a lead in which they would not relinquish — during their nip and tuck affair. 

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Dunking with Wolves

Anthony Bennett

It seems as though Bennett and Wiggins decided to switch places this summer. As the country’s prodigal son fails to impress (for his standards), its bastard first born has been a complete revelation.

The first thing you notice about AB is his physique. The man is in tip-top shape.

As a result, he’s been able to leverage and emphasize his most devastating skills — his power and his motor.

His activity through four games, as well as his performance in the Pan Am games a month or so back, has been downright ridiculous. He’s fighting for seemingly every offensive board, rolling hard on every pick-and-roll, and bullying every defender who dares to stand in his wake.

Simply put, he’s been a beast in the paint, rebounding outside of his area and dunking everything in sight. And when his inside game is taken away, he’s been hitting the FIBA three with consistency and confidence. He’s still showing little outside of dunks and spot-up shooting — but it’s the activity in which he’s accumulating his daily double-doubles that impresses.

In addition, he’s rim-running and sealing unbelievably hard every trip down, and has even given glimpses of a nifty baby hook over both shoulders.

However, he still looks a bit lost defensively, in particular with his pick-and-roll coverage. Most notably, he often fails to utilize his gargantuan wingspan, and simply drops back with his hand below his knees; thereby, allowing the opposing ball-handler free reigns without material impairment to whip pinpoint passes to his diving big.

But, all in all, Bennett, along with Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell, has been the most impressive members of Team Canada in Puerto Rico.

While Wolves fans have already given up hope for AB, hopefully he can leverage his fine summer and resurrect his career as a hyperactive playmaking stretch 4 alongside Karl-Anthony Towns next season.

As for Wiggins, we know when the lights are the brightest, an engaged Maple Jordan will show up. Here’s to hoping we get a couple vintage Wiggy performances as the FIBA Americas tournament start in less than a week.

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