Is Andrew Wiggins third wheel material? — part 2

This is where Andrew Wiggins and his five-year, $146.5 million max deal might come into play. If the Timberwolves can attract a free-agent like (*crosses fingers) Paul George this offseason (George and Butler are friends from Team USA), or I’ve heard Kawhi Leonard whispers then what do you do with Wiggins and his max deal?

Andrew has certainly not played up to expectations this season after signing his deal, and it is all about value in the NBA. Is Wiggins’ 18 ppg, 1-1 assist to turnover ratio, and four rebounds worth a max contract? 

Relatively same stats. Wiggins is making $100 million more! This is a value league. pic.twitter.com/VLs3NA7v09

— Aaron Herbst (@AaronHerbst2) February 24, 2018

Perhaps a better question to ask is: Is Wiggins even tradeable at this point?

There are several nights when he is utterly invisible on the court and his effort is disappointing. In a must-win game against the Boston Celtics, Wiggins put up just 13 pts, and 4 turnovers.

Check out the 6:10 mark of this video. There is absolutely no effort made to put his body in front of the driving player. And this is not an isolated incident, either. There are plays like this that happen ALL THE TIME. When he gets his shots he’ll occasionally play hard, but his offense has certainly dictated his effort on defense this season.

While I’m not screaming: “trade Wiggins, trade Wiggins!” like many Wolves fans are, I am saying that if the right opportunity comes along for a player that compliments Butler and Towns in the right areas, you have to seriously consider pulling the trigger if you’re Tom Thibodeau to ensure Jimmy resigns in Minnesota.

I’m also incredibly anxious to see how Wiggins plays in a playoff environment. His tape from the Portland Trailblazers game (which felt like a playoff atmosphere) on March 1st was incredible!

Wig is gonna get harder to defend if he shows flashes of defensive “burst” like that, causing a Kyrie turnover. Has similar flashes vs. McCollum the other night. No reason that should happen only once in a while.

— Punch-Drunk Wolves (@PDWolves) March 9, 2018

He essentially shut down C.J. McCollum while being aggressive and driving to the hoop and shooting wide open triples on offense.