The Andrew Wiggins Chapter in Golden State Has Officially Begun
ESPN's Adrian "Woj" Wojnarowski is known for reporting just about all of the significant moves when the months of player mobility come around-- usually reporting the news that shakes the basketball world. Woj's reports are known as Woj Bombs, and the basketball world craves those bombs when the trade deadline rolls around.
Well, Woj delivered for what felt like the 24 hours leading to the league's trade deadline. He dropping news about the four-team trade that left the Houston Rockets the size of the Bridgeton Middle School team, the trade that showed that Jerry West runs LA regardless of which LA team he's with, and gave us the Cleveland move we weren't expecting. The biggest bomb came when Woj reported that the Warriors would be shipping D'Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves for someone not named Karl Anthony Towns.
Bob Myers and company agreed to send D'Angelo Russell, Jacob Evans, and Omari Spellman to Minnesota for Andrew Wiggins, a 2021 protected first-round pick and a 2022 second-round pick.
There are a lot of speculations going around as to why the Warriors' front office was so eager to trade Russell-- the leading theory going around being that the Warriors gave up on Russell's ability to buy into their system. As convenient as that theory would be, it's the furthest thing from the truth. Russell, despite their record this season, embraced the Warriors' offense averaging 23.6 points and 6.2 assists per game on 55.8 percent true shooting.
The reality is that Andrew Wiggins just fits better with what the Warriors need.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr verbalized that fit Thursday afternoon during a radio appearance on KNBR 680.
"It's a positional fit when we're healthy," Kerr explained. "The big hole in the roster really is at the three. Wings are really hard to come by -- both in the draft and in free agency. Positionally, this makes a lot of sense."
The Warriors became an offensive juggernaut before the acquisition of Kevin Durant, and their five straight trips to the NBA Finals. That juggernaut was created in the 2014-15 season and was perfected in the 2015-16 season.
The formula of the masterpiece that is the Warriors' motion offense relies on the sharpshooting of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Their presence allows for the motion offense to work at historical rates. Every miscommunication on off-ball screens, on-ball switches, and transition defense is predicated off of the Splash Brothers just being on the court-- especially Stephen Curry.
While both Curry and Thompson create unlimited spacing through their endless range and efficiency, Curry is the offense. He doesn't need a set or a screen, because not only is he one of the most efficient shooters from long range that the game has seen, he also has one of the best handles in the league. He doesn't just dribble to pound cake-- he dribbles with a purpose to either create spacing for his shot or a shot for a teammate.
The genius of Kerr is the ability to put the pieces together around Curry. Turning Green into a point four, further creating match-up issues. Making Thompson and Curry screeners for slashers like Shaun Livingston and Harrison Barnes. Putting Andre Iguodala and Curry in the pick and roll, allowing for Iguodala to be on an island with their defender. Each players' willingness to adopt a new role, take a step back, or even be more assertive in different aspects of their game, accompanied by the presence of Curry, has made the offense the juggernaut it is.
So insert Andrew Wiggins, a young, athletic, slasher who-- with all of the questions about his work ethic-- is averaging 22 points and five rebounds. Give that space to Wiggins, who before coming to the Bay was playing on a team where KAT was their biggest threat from the outside. Now he has a clear lane, and arguably the greatest shooter to grace the National Basketball Association screening for him.
"Wiggins is an electric athlete, and we want to play fast," Kerr said. "He's gonna be on the wing -- we're gonna try to push the ball ahead -- and we're gonna ask him to sprint the wing every time down the floor. He's got the length and the speed to fill that role as a small forward. There's a lot to like."
In a sense, the Warriors are potentially resetting back to the original blueprint that made them great. The bench of that 2015-16 team wasn't filled with household names coming off the bench like today's Lakers and Clippers benches. That bench had dudes like Brandon Rush, Ian Clark, Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights, and Anderson Varejao making quality contributions. Their time in the Bay got them better contracts elsewhere, but their play was not the same once they left. Of the players from that 15-16 bench, only one is still on an NBA team.
All this is to say that the current young guys know the system and have bought in. Eric Paschall, Ky Bowman, Damion Lee, and Marquese Chriss are developing into reliable pros, and looking at the pre-Durant era, Kerr only needs solid to create great.
With that said, the Death Lineup is the factor that will push the team over the top. Before Durant, Harrison Barnes was the ex-factor to that lineup. In 2015-16, Barnes shot 46-percent from the field and 38-percent from the three. He defended a position up and rebounded well. He did the intangibles and knocked down open shots.
Ok, so now Wiggins will have to fill in that role. Career-wise he is a better scorer and equal rebounder. He isn't as efficient, shooting 44-percent from the field and 33-percent from three, but theoretically, the spacing created by the Splash Bros will boost that stat.
While all of that is a logical analysis, the main concern around the analysis isn't Wiggins’ potential fit as far as his ceiling, the concern is if he will reach that ceiling.
The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Wiggins with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft but traded him two months later to Minnesota in the deal that sent Kevin Love to the Cavs.
The 24-year-old was viewed as a potential superstar who could take the T-Wolves to new heights, but he never reached those lofty expectations.
Wiggins won't be called upon to become that with the Warriors.
"There's a difference in the role that we're gonna ask him to play, too," Kerr said. "Minnesota needed him to be a star. And we're not asking him to be a star. We're asking him to play a role on a team that already has some star players. There's a huge difference there.”
"When you have to play that role, it means bringing energy every night more than it means putting up numbers. He's very capable of giving us numbers, but what we need is energy and the commitment defensively and sprinting the floor."
There is a wide belief that the Warriors think Wiggins can benefit from a new situation and that he can grow from a solid defender into an elite defender who, once surrounded by Steph and Klay, can be more consistent offensively.
In short, the team is putting its trust in Steve Kerr's ability to resurrect Wiggins' career the way he did so with JaVale McGee and Nick Young and others.
McGee was once known by casual fans as the guy always on Shaqin’ A Fool, and through two seasons with the Dubs stood up to Shaq, limited his comical moments, and played basketball at a very high level. McGee credits Steve Kerr with helping him focus and assistant coach and former NBA center Jarron Collins for giving him the information he needs to succeed in his role.
Swaggy P was known more for drama than his on court play. Young was a member of the Washington Wizards on Dec. 21, 2009, when teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton had a locker room confrontation that ended with Arenas pulling out a gun. Young was also known for putting his arms up in triumph and turning his back to the basket on a missed 3-pointer during a game with the Lakers. And then there was March 2016, when a cell phone video surfaced that then-Lakers rookie guard D'Angelo Russell taped in which Young answered his questions about being with other women while engaged to rapper Iggy Azalia.
Coming to the Warriors neutralized the drama that generally follows Swaggy P and turned him into what he calls “Swagg-Champ". Young credits Kerr, saying that Kerr encouraged him to be himself and welcomed his care-free attitude instead of "turning the game into a business."
Wiggins has a much higher ceiling than both Young and McGee but will have to adapt to the winning culture and adopt the work ethic of the stars in the Bay. Hopefully, Kerr will be able to get in his ear the way he was able to with McGee and Young.
It will be interesting what happens. Less than eight months ago, the basketball world was making these same predictions about D'Angelo Russell's fit, and here we are. In this case, the fit will rely heavier on want compared to position.
Andrew Wiggins will make his Warriors debut on Saturday night at Chase Center against the LA Lakers in a nationally televised game.