What if the Timberwolves traded Andrew Wiggins?

Andrew Wiggins may be a comfortable starter for the Timberwolves, but what if Tom Thibodeau were to decide to say “au revoir” to the small forward?

Let’s start by point out that Andrew Wiggins is currently one-third of the Timberwolves’ ‘Big Three’ alongside Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns.

This is a man who is also one-third of the players who managed to start every single Timberwolves game during the 2016-17 season along with KAT and Gorgui Dieng.

But picture this: a future without Wiggins.

A team on which the big three would become a troublesome two instead, would see Air Canada jet off to pastures new.

Of course, this is all hypothetically speaking.

Right now, Andrew is enjoying his off-season holidays by the pool according to his Instagram posts, and will soon be ready to embark on another 82-game marathon.

Let’s say however, that Wiggins would be traded this summer.

What would the Timberwolves miss that Andrew has so willingly given to the roster? What worthy reasoning is there to trade Wggins to their rivals?

What follows is one major pro and major con surrounding the idea of moving Andrew Wiggins.

Wiggins should stay with the Wolves because….he is clutch

Wiggins has been the epitome of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde argument when it comes to hitting game-winners.

Of course, many minds when reading this will think back to the most recent occurrence of this statement.

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In their penultimate match this campaign hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ricky Rubio found Andrew with acres of space at the arc. With 1.6 on the clock, he shoots the three, misses the wide-open look, and downtown Minneapolis is silent.

But this is not the Wiggins that Wolves fans witnessed throughout the season. On more than one occasion, ‘Drew has come up clutch at the end of some tight matches.

One of these being the incredible comeback in North Carolina, whereby some quick-fire threes from Dieng, Rubio and Wiggins himself sent the Wolves to overtime against the Charlotte Hornets.

Kemba Walker had previously put up a basket to extend their lead to three, only for Wiggins to hit a brilliant jump-shot to tie it up with just a few seconds remaining.

He performed the same kind of clutch showing again in 2017. Down one in Phoenix, Andrew took immense contact from P.J. Tucker yet still drained the pull-up jumper at the buzzer.

It is this element of Wiggins’ game that Minnesota would lose if he was traded? No one else on the team has the same ability at the buzzer than he has had this season.

Wiggins should not stay with the Wolves because…he is the weakest of the Big Three

Now, before some readers get up-in-arms about this statement, let’s put the comment into perspective.

The Wolves have the aforementioned ‘Big Three’. KAT is undisputedly the best of the three, so we can put the man out of Kentucky to one side. That leaves Andrew and Zach.

Both of these players bring something different to the table. A notable difference between these two players is apparent, however, and mainly due to the expectation they carry.

Wiggins was expected to come to Minnesota ready to take over from Kevin Love who went the other way to Cleveland, and begin to shake up a Wolves team on the longest current playoff drought in the NBA.

Yet, despite settling in and becoming a fairly consistent scorer, Wiggins has been unable to hit the high notes as many predicted.

Some areas of the media touted him so highly could be the reasoning behind this argument, and some may wish to factor his age into the debate as well.

LaVine, on the other hand, was picked 13th in the draft, not first, and has been more impressive — possibly due to not having such a weight on his shoulders.

Zach came into the team and has since become a regular starter speaks volumes, mainly down to his sheer athleticism and ability as a playmaker.

His efficiency from the three-point line is, unsurprisingly, higher than Wiggins’, though only trails but a couple of percentiles in his shooting elsewhere on the court.

Defensively, LaVine has somewhat of an edge of Wiggins due to the latter’s lack of consistency. The expectation for Zach on defense is far less than that of ‘Drew. Improve his game there, and he may leapfrog LaVine as the better all-around player.

It is unlikely that Wiggins will be traded anytime soon, but it is worth noting that there are definitely factors for Thibs to weigh.

Next: Timberwolves Free Agency: Milwaukee Bucks Edition

Should he decide to trade the Canadian away from Target Center, there could be a Wiggins-shaped hole that could be hard to fill.