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Andrew Wiggins: The sixth man the Minnesota Timberwolves deserve

By Michael Walton

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Ricky Rubio #9 of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrate against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Verizon Center on January 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Ricky Rubio #9 of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrate against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Verizon Center on January 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Andrew Wiggins would best help the Minnesota Timberwolves in their current state as an off-the-bench offensive dynamo.

In the 2016-17 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves had the worst scoring bench in the NBA. That could end with Andrew Wiggins becoming a sixth man.

This isn’t shocking when you take a look at their young roster, but it’s a bit impressive when you realize that the Wolves actually finished with a top-10 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions).

If the franchise hopes to turn around its fortunes and make the playoffs, they will definitely need to shore up their defense, but there is an old platitude that applies in this situation: “The best defense is a good offense.”

2016-17 Minnesota Offense:

Despite posting the 10th best offensive rating in the league, the T-Wolves were only able to muster up 31 wins last year. They scored 105.6 points per game, good for 13th in the league.

Some of the most elite offenses in the league — think Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards, and Boston Celtics — only scored 3-4 more points per game than Minnesota last year.

It is conceivable to surmise that eking out a few more points out of their offense would’ve given Tom Thibodeau and company a better chance of making the postseason.

Going Forward:

Points are the name of the game in today’s league, but even the top-heavy Cleveland Cavaliers can get near 30 points from their bench unit. Minnesota is pretty thin on the wing as of right now and no matter who else they sign in free agency, the bench figures to be an issue from a strictly talent standpoint.

The signing of Jeff Teague definitely helps the starting unit, but the bench problem will still linger.

Bench woes would end with a new beginning for Wiggins as a sixth man. He has not panned out to be the defensive terror everyone expected when the uber-athletic swingman came out of Kansas, but a move to the bench would first result in sparing him from the LeBron Jameses and Kevin Durants of the league.

From an offensive standpoint, Wiggins would be able to pick apart second units. He is a deadly finisher in the open floor, and he would be able to play more of his game if he came in for spurts when Jimmy Butler was getting a rest. This would allow him to work on improving his isolation game, a surprising weakness for him last season.

Wiggins used up more possessions on offense than Butler last season. That figures to change with the veteran guard reunited with his former head coach. It would be hard to hunt for 19 shots per game, but playing off the bench would give him ample opportunity.

Last season, Shabazz Muhammad finished with a better offensive rating than Wiggins.

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Take that in for a second. The reason for the discrepancy was Wiggins’ shot selection. Per Basketball-Reference, 25.3 percent of Wiggins shots were long twos (16 feet or further out). Muhammad, on the other hand, took just four percent of his shots in that range.

I believe Wiggins has the ability to become an All-Star player. That is based just off his offensive outbursts at this point. Last season Wiggins’ usage percentage went up, while his true shooting percentage and free throw attempts trended downwards. With a move to the bench, he could potentially become a max-contract guy based off his ability to get buckets on lesser defenders.

While the Wolves will most likely pair Wiggins and Jimmy Butler on the wing, the arrival of Jimmy Buckets takes the pressure off Wiggins to score. Perhaps a move to the bench would allow Minnesota to roll out an even more effective 1-2 punch than playing them together.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

A sixth man role would give Wiggins a chance to reach his full potential as go-to bucket-getter. Thibodeau is the perfect coach to help him hone his skills around this solid group of veterans, and become an elite off-the-bench scorer.

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