Andrew Wiggins and the Third Wheel
Shifting roles is difficult to swallow but has it’s perks

Andrew Wiggins was drafted #1 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft. He was the prospect with the highest ceiling on Draft Night. The Cavaliers traded him in the same summer they picked him, plus Anthony Bennett (who was later banished to the Phantom Zone) for Kevin Love. It was the right move. The Cavs won a championship. LeBron came home and within two years won a ring for The Land. Mission accomplished. It’s easy to say now that Cleveland should’ve kept Wiggins as he’s more suited for the franchise going forward, but by that logic, then there’s no championship. Wiggins wasn’t and still isn’t ready for the highest level of basketball played in June and the Cavaliers don’t recover from 3-1 if Wiggins is getting lost on down screens and allowing open Klay Thompson three pointers. Yes Kevin Love did not play well in the 2016 Finals and it took ungodly performances from LeBron and Kyrie Irving to eventually claim the title, but Kevin Love did help get him there. We don’t know if Wiggins is capable at that point in time to make “the stop” in Game 7. (On a related note, Kevin Love probably still has that play on repeat 24/7 on his home TV.)
People will never give Kevin Love his dues for his role on that team, and it’s justifiable as you have to get past some serious storylines. This includes LeBron going nuclear in games 5-7, Kyrie hitting the dagger 3 on the right side in the face of Steph Curry, J.R. proceeding to go shirtless for the next 3 months, and ending a championship drought of 52 years. After all of that are you then allowed to say “oh by the way Kevin Love was also there”. Even if the Cavaliers had repeated this year against the Warriors, the story would be about the greatness of LeBron and his destruction of a powerhouse two years in a row. That’s what happens when you’re arguably the second greatest player of all time.

Typically when great teams lose, fingers are quickly pointed to what the third option and beyond didn’t do to help them prevail. When the team wins, the praise typically doesn’t go to the third wheel on the team either. It’s basically a lose-lose situation individually, so the best that can be hoped for is team success — which after all is the objective of a team sport. While unfair, that’s just how the history books tends to remember the third in commands. Notable third option Chris Bosh warned Kevin Love back in 2014 saying, “It’s going to be very difficult for him. Even if I was in his corner and I was able to tell him what to expect and what to do, it still doesn’t make any difference. You still have to go through things, you still have to figure out things on your own. It’s extremely difficult and extremely frustrating. He’s going to have to deal with that.” Bosh did not bite his tongue one bit.

Looking back three years later, it’s safe to say that Love understands what Bosh was expressing. Being the third wheel is tough. Your role is heavily diminished compared to your last situation and whenever you lose, you’re the fall-guy. Love went from averaging 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds on 18.5 shot attempts per game in his last year in Minny to Cleveland, where in three years he has averaged 17 points and 10.2 rebounds on 13.2 shot attempts per game. While his Cleveland numbers haven’t been poor, he’s had to adjust from a usage rate of 28.8% to 23.6% (an 18% decrease). His shot selection drastically changed, with 36% of his shots being three pointers in that final season, to an average of 44% in Cleveland. Of those three pointers on the Cavs, 32.5% of them were taken in the corner — an increase from 9.1% on the Wolves. Bosh experienced a similar development when he moved from the Raptors to the Big Three Heat. Going from being “The Guy” to the third option would be a role change that’s hard to swallow for any player. That’s the price of winning. Neither of them likely regret it though, as they were placed in the best winning situations of their careers playing with LeBron.

Where does this leave Andrew Wiggins, the best Canadian-born player of this era? Head Coach/General Manager/Evil Genius Tom Thibodeau traded for former pupil Jimmy Butler this summer to create a Big 3 of their own in Butler, Wiggins, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Both Wiggins and Towns won Rookie of the Year honors but in Year 2, KAT improved exponentially, while Wiggins has incrementally developed over his three years in the league. This leaves Wiggins in the precarious role of being the third wheel. In his case, it might actually prove to be a good thing.
In his three years, Wiggins has proven to be a talented scorer, but his game has left much to be desired in other departments. He just signed a max contract of $146.5 million dollars, which would keep him with the organization for the foreseeable future. Minnesota is definitely counting on him to continue growing and evolving into a highly skilled, multi-faceted player. The Timberwolves haven’t done much of anything in his time there, missing the playoffs all three years, but the addition of Butler changes that. They have the chance to end the longest playoff drought in the NBA and will be expected to do so.

Considerable work will have to be done however. His passing has been mediocre and in small doses. His defense has been nearly nonexistent. His rebounding has been adequate at best. Inserting Butler on the wing will definitely alleviate a lot of these issues. Butler developed more and more as a playmaker each year with the Bulls, averaging 5.5 assists last season, while always guarding the opposing team’s most dangerous wing threat (3x All-Defensive Team member), and has rebounded consistently averaging 5.4 rebounds per 36 minutes in his career.
The move will shift Wiggins back down to the Shooting Guard position, a better role for him at this point in his career, as he has yet to add on the bulk necessary to guard the 3s and small ball 4’s of the league. Butler will hide many of Wiggins deficiencies and will take on the role of “The Guy” which we don’t know if Wiggins ever really wanted. It’s up to Andrew now to play his role to his best potential. He should focus on developing as a consistent 3 point shooter (35.6% last year, his best year by far) to become an efficient scoring threat, continue to learn defensive principals (come playoff time, the NBA is now about switching to find the weak link defensively), and add muscle to his frame to help him going forward.
The life of a third wheel is a difficult one, but if done well, can be very rewarding (see Bosh/Love’s combined 3 rings). In this year’s Finals, the duo’s of Kyrie/LeBron and Curry/Durant played each other evenly. It was the rest of the members of each team that ultimately decided the series. In this current era of superteams, the third best player shouldn’t be overlooked, but instead celebrated as the potential difference maker in a playoff series. Wiggins is capable of making that kind of impact. He can create his own shot, and make ones of the most difficult variety, the type that you have to live with on occassion in the playoffs. Not many players have the opportunity to play alongside two superstars in the NBA. It’s up to him to make the most of his challenging new situation. The Timberwolves are counting on him to do just that.
