The Minnesota Timberwolves have a young team but they are filled with a lot of talent. The last two first overall picks call Minnesota home and because of that it seems as though the Timberwolves have a very bright future. Karl-Anthony Towns is having an outstanding rookie season and Andrew Wiggins was rookie of the year last season but there is some concern within the organization about Wiggins. The second-year man out of Kansas skips a lot of workouts and doesn't have the best habits, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report.
Coming into the season interim head coach Sam Mitchell's plan was to move Wiggins from shooting guard to small forward which is Minnesota's long-term plan. Wiggins though does not have enough muscle to be able to deal with other small forwards on a regular basis so he has played mostly shooting guard. The Timberwolves would obviously like to see Wiggins in the gym more so he can put on more muscle but he reportedly skips a lot of workouts.
The reason for wanting to move Wiggins to small forward full-time is because they think he can be an elite defender and they want to open up the shooting guard spot full-time for Zach LaVine. LaVine instead has had to come off the bench and split his time between point guard and shooting guard which has, in turn, limited the opportunities for rookie Tyus Jones.
The skipped workouts reportedly haven't been the only issue the Timberwolves have with Wiggins. The 20-year-old also reportedly goes through his pregame workouts very nonchalantly among other bad habits. Wiggins is also very sensitive to criticism and because of that he reportedly tries to stay away from Kevin Garnett, one of the best leaders in the NBA, as much as possible.
Wiggins is still an extremely talented player who has a bright future in the NBA (there is a reason why he was getting LeBron James comparisons) but Towns may be the future face of this franchise due to the difference in work ethic.
In his second season in the league Wiggins has put up some extraordinary numbers (20.8 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game, 45 percent shooting from the field) and has shown some improvement. One area he hasn't improved though is from the three-point line where he has dropped from 31 percent to 24 percent. Wiggins is already an elite scorer in the league but he still has plenty to work on. The three-point shooting is certainly something to improve but bulking up is more important because it will allow the Timberwolves to play their guys at what they think are their ideal positions. Wiggins' ability to play small forward will ultimately improve the team because it will allow them to get their best players on the floor more often. It's up to Wiggins to commit to getting stronger and putting the team first.
