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NBA free agency: Each team’s worst signing in franchise history

By Josh Cornelissen

Eddy Curry, New York Knicks, Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Eddy Curry, New York Knicks, Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Worst free agent signing in Minnesota Timberwolves history: Andrew Wiggins

5 Years, $148 million

Andrew Wiggins was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, going ahead of Jabari Parker and his Kansas Jayhawks teammate Joel Embiid. He won NBA Rookie of the Year, averaged 20 points per game by his second season and appeared in 125 out of a possible 126 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves in those three seasons.

The Canadian native is a top-notch athlete, young and productive, the exact candidate for a maximum rookie extension. After some bizarre back-and-forth in the media, Wiggins signed that extension, putting a five-year, $148 million contract on the Timberwolves’ books.

Although technically not a free agent signing, this has to be mentioned alongside the all-time worst contracts. Because from the moment the ink dried on the extension, Wiggins’ progression has flatlined, his bad habits have multiplied and he has shown a variety of negative teammate traits. In short, the Timberwolves are paying a max contract to a player who seems to be actively harming the team.

Wiggins’ efficiency has plummeted the past two seasons, falling to 41.2 percent this past season, and he has even shot below 70 percent from the line each of the past two years. Defensively, he is spacey off-ball and undisciplined on-ball. The Timberwolves seemed to play better with Josh Okogie in Wiggins’ spot, even if Wiggins still racked up the points.

He is young enough that there is still the possibility for some development, but there is no longer any reason to expect it. Rarely does a player with his credentials stall out in this way, but the NBA is a fickle league. The Wiggins of this past season is making a lot of money for a minimum impact.