I'm not a psychologist, nor do I play one on TV, but it seems to be the status quo that the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft should be a true leader, a future superstar, a singular personality who can be the alpha dog on a good (if not great) team.
To some, Andrew Wiggins doesn't fit that bill. He doesn't have the smooth manner of speech or the projectable "NBA-ready" offensive game of Jabari Parker. He seemed to drift in and out of and between games, with 20-, 30- and even 40-point nights sprinkled among single-digit scoring efforts, including a four-point flop against Stanford in Kansas' NCAA tournament ouster this past March.Wiggins is raw, with clear holes in his game. He's not a great ball-handler, particularly when going left, and doesn't shoot the lights out.
But that's more the norm than the exception for 19-year-olds, even ones as highly hyped as Wiggins was and still is. More importantly, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who took Wiggins No. 1 over Parker, don't need the Toronto native to be all those things—a leader, a superstar, an alpha dog or you name it...not yet, anyway.For one, the Cavs already have a franchise-type player. You may have heard of him. His name's Kyrie Irving. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2011-12 and the All-Star MVP this past February and figures to be a part of Team USA's quest for the Naismith Trophy at the FIBA World Cup of Basketball in Spain later this summer.Soon enough, he'll be filthy stinking rich too. According to The Plain Dealer's Terry Pluto, the Cavs will offer Irving a five-year max extension once the calendar turns to July.
Irving is the face of the franchise in Cleveland, for better or worse. The 22-year-old is already an incredibly marketable star, sporting endorsement deals with Nike and Pepsi (among others), even though he's yet to lead a team to 35 wins in a season, much less compete in the playoffs.None of those responsibilities will fall to Wiggins, certainly not at the outset, and the Cavs will not ask him to be the focal point of their offense. That task, like so many others, will be on Irving, the team's leading scorer and assist man since he arrived on the banks of the Cuyahoga River three years ago.
This isn't to say that Wiggins can't or won't make a difference from Day 1. "I just want to come in, create an impact right off the bat, offensively and defensively, bring the team to the next level and just be a good teammate, be a good part of the organization," Wiggins said during his introductory press conference on Friday, per The Associated Press (via ESPN). "I want to be on the All-Defensive team, be rookie of the year, make the All-Star team, all that type of stuff."The accolades will come in time. For now, Wiggins can focus on applying his strengths in games and eliminating his weaknesses in practices and workouts. He already projects as a potent perimeter defender, thanks to his tremendous length, lateral quickness and athleticism.
And, of course, the lessons he's learned from his father, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins. "I taught him how to guard multiple positions," the elder Wiggins said (via the AP). "How to guard a scorer, how to guard a driver. He understands defensively what he needs to do and he cherishes defense."Wiggins showed off that ability in spades as a freshman at KU, particularly during a showdown with Duke in November. Jabari Parker torched the Jayhawks for 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the first half. But Parker managed just eight points on 3-of-8 from the field after that, due in large part to Kansas coach Bill Self's decision to switch his star freshman onto his Blue Devils counterpart.
Wiggins wasn't too shabby on the other end, either. He scored 16 of his 22 points after the break to lead Kansas to a 94-83 victory.Granted, one game does not a representative sample make. But Wiggins showed off that same defensive streak throughout his lone collegiate campaign, enough to convince the Cavs to take him over Parker."We really believe in this point that his defense is a skill set," GM David Griffin said on Friday (via The Plain Dealer's Jodie Valade). "That's something that really spoke to me about Andrew. All of our scouts felt that he had the most upside." To be sure, starring at one end of the floor won't be enough for Wiggins to pan out as the top pick or for the Cavs to achieve their goal of making the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James left town in 2010.
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