1. Defense
Just based on his natural athletic gifts, Andrew Wiggins should run into two or three steals per game, right? Well, he’s averaging one steal per game for his career, and even a little less than that this year (0.7 per game entering Friday).
A good bit of playing defense in basketball is pure effort. Wiggins often looks like he couldn’t care less on that end of the floor, which again points to his inner wiring.
In a broader sense, Wiggins should fill the stat sheet more than he does just based on his talent and never has. Coaches failing to reach him at all or surely consistently, is a small factor in that. But as a professional athlete, and one like Wiggins who is now playing on a max deal he was never going play up to (despite apparently promising Timberwolves’ owner Glen Taylor he’d work harder), motivation should not have to come from a coach.
Maybe the Warriors can get something out of Wiggins he has not shown. Being on a team where he won’t need to be a star, and also won’t be a lightning rod for rampant criticism, should help. Maybe Draymond Green can succeed where Jimmy Butler failed as someone to light a fire under Wiggins. But let’s be honest, Wiggins may just be starting what we’ll look back on as a nomadic back half of his NBA career.
