Warrior Wonder: Andrew Wiggins is an All-Star

The Cavs got the best player in the trade, and for as much potential as Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett have, Love will likely remain the best player in the trade.

Wiggins could one day become a franchise player. Flip Saunders said Saturday that he was No. 1 on his draft board, and there’s good reason for that. He fits the profile of a modern-day NBA wing player, with absurd athleticism, tremendous defensive instincts and a willingness to play within a team environment.

He’s not the prototypical isolation scorer that used to define stars at his position, but that’s fine, especially at this stage. It’s up to Wiggins and the Wolves to harness all that potential in the coming years.

Grade the trade: The Kevin Love-Andrew Wiggins blockbuster - James Herbert, Aug 23, 2014

This recap of the blockbuster deal that sent Love to Cleveland to help LeBron James win a championship crystallizes how highly prized of a rookie prospect Wiggins was while demonstrating the uncertainty of his future. A future that James’ Cavaliers were unwilling to bet on as they tried to squeeze through a narrow championship window.

Wiggins was the Cavs’ 2014 #1 draft pick yet never got a chance to play alongside James. Now, at the 2022 All-Star Game in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse arena, the soon to be 27-year old will have his name announced alongside King James in the Western Conference All Stars starting lineup.

Wiggins be also get his name announced alongside his Golden State Warriors’ teammate Stephen Curry’s name too, the man who defeated James in three NBA Finals. How do the Warriors keep coming up golden with these personnel moves???

Partially it’s by shutting out the noise, and there was PLENTY of noise surrounding Golden State acquiring Wiggins from the historically moribund franchise that is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Take GSOM’s own Brady Klopfer:

A bad player you say? At the time of this writing, Wiggins is averaging 18 PPG on 48% shooting from the field, 41% from beyond the arc. He also is an excellent defender and the guy who draws the toughest defensive assignments for the top defense in the league.

Adding Jonathan Kuminga to that Minnesota trade package makes this the Wiggins-for-D’Angelo-Russell deal highway robbery.

But that’s a conversation for another time. This is Wiggins’ moment,and Dub Nation can revel in the fact that they don’t need to scramble for a trade for an All-Star…because they already got one from Minnesota.