Andrew Wiggins for Kyrie Irving: Why it makes sense for the Timberwolves

The Andrew Wiggins for Kyrie Irving debate is a contentious topic for Timberwolves fans, and understandably so. Here is some logical thought behind why it might be a good idea.

In the NBA, hypotheticals are fun. They’re even more fun when they include a superstar player and your favorite team in late July.

Kyrie Irving, wunderkind ball-handler and shot-making extraordinaire, turned the NBA world upside-down last Friday when news broke that he requested a trade from the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

But for Wolves fans, this wasn’t even the most surprising report of the night. That came a short while after Brian Windhorst’s original story, when news leaked that the new look Timberwolves were on Irving’s ‘preferred destination’ list. A frenzy ensued, hot-takes were given, and the collective blood pressure of Minnesota sports fans rose.

Kyrie Irving?! The Timberwolves?! A superstar athlete from a seemingly great situation actually requesting to come to our frigid winter setting to play basketball?! It seemed too good to be true.

But here we are a week later, and the hot-takes have been turned into mostly rational trade proposals on what it would take for the Wolves to pry Irving from the Cavaliers grasp. The inevitable conclusion to this thought process is that in order to get Kyrie, the Wolves will need to part with the polarizing, yet highly talented, Andrew Wiggins.

This idea sparks an equal amount of resistance and excitement from Timberwolves faithful. On one hand, you have a 22-year-old former number-one-overall pick who has drastically improved in each of his three years in the league. On the other, there’s a four-time All-Star who has repeatedly showed his value on the league’s biggest stage. Here is the argument for the latter.

Quick disclaimer

Lets start by saying that every positive paragraph I write about Kyrie Irving could be ended with the following: Yeah, well, Andrew Wiggins could turn into that too. That’s not the point. I fully understand and support the idea of keeping Andrew Wiggins on the team. So before Wolves fans bite my head off, just calmly and reasonably read the article and formulate your opinions. I am going to try and analyze this situation as objectively and as unbiased as I can.

A business decision

Kyrie Irving is a superstar. There is no questioning that as an absolute fact. He is a worldwide icon and one of the biggest names in a league that specializes in big names. He has won an NBA championship and become a household name for sports fans in the last three years.

None of these statements are fresh takes on what Kyrie Irving is, but why does this matter? Well, one consistently forgotten aspect to NBA transactions is how they impact the business side of the team. Andrew Wiggins is a popular star with a strong following in his home country of Canada. Kyrie Irving is a global mega-star who has fans all over the world.

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This has a huge impact when you have an owner in Glen Taylor who has the final say in all decisions. Adding Kyrie Irving would take the Timberwolves from a fun up-and-coming team to serious challengers. Target Center would consistently be sold out. Staggering amounts of merchandise would be sold. Nationally televised games would be regular.

In short, the value of the franchise and profitability of the organization would skyrocket. This is what could be a determining factor in the end on whether or not Taylor gives the go ahead on such a deal.

Glen Taylor has made an absurd amount of money minimizing risk. Wouldn’t there be less risk in trading a player with the potential to be an all-star for a player who has already achieved that accolade and much more? Especially with his good pal Jimmy Butler here to convince him of staying long term.

This will lead to…

Yeah, I know. Nobody wants to hear about the business side of things because it doesn’t impact us as fans. But actually, it does.

The Timberwolves would only acquire Kyrie Irving if they had the idea of signing him long term in mind. With max contracts also due to Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler in the next two years, the salary cap situation could begin to get pretty squeezed. There is really only way to support three maximum contracts and still fill out a contending roster. And that is if the owner is willing to vault into the luxury tax.

The only way Taylor would to do this is if the increased profitability of the franchise gives him the incentive. This is why potentially landing Kyrie would be such a big deal. So many people become irritated with the Golden State Warriors ability to sign good players on minimum deals. There are two things that afford them that opportunity: 1) a lot of talent on the roster/winning. 2) An owner who knows every penny he is paying into the luxury tax is worth it.

If the Wolves acquire Irving, they could potentially be in that same boat. I’m not saying this wouldn’t be possible with Wiggins, it’s just that it is more possible with Irving.

On-court fit

Now we’re on to the fun stuff. How does Kyrie Irving fit better with the Wolves than Andrew Wiggins?

We’ll start with Wiggins. There is no doubting his physical gifts and upside. There’s also no doubting his incredible scoring ability and potential. However, there is questioning his fit next to a player like Jimmy Butler, who is basically his basketball clone on offense.

It’s not as though these two players cannot coexist on the offensive end. Quite the contrary actually. If they can figure out how to play with one another by hitting spot up threes and taking opportunistic back-door chances, it could be quite effective. It’s just that these two might take some time to click when they enjoy playing with such similar styles on such similar parts of the floor.

Kyrie Irving, on the other hand, fits quite nicely. This isn’t to say he will slide in without any bumps in the road. His need to have the ball in his hands is well documented, and his defense leaves much to be desired. He also plays the same position as possibly the biggest signing of the off-season for the Wolves in Jeff Teague.

However, his offensive skill set is so special that it just might make up for it. Zach Harper of FanRag Sports wrote an article describing just how special he is on the glamorous end of the court. Harper states that Kyrie was just the fifth player in NBA history to have a shooting line of 47/40/90 (field goal/three-point/free throw percentages) while averaging over 25 points per game. He joins a club consisting of Larry Bird, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Dirk Nowitzki — not bad company.

For a team that’s main need is shooting, Irving’s ability to put the ball in the basket from virtually any part of the court will be welcomed with open arms. His distribution skills and ability to get teammates involved isn’t elite, but one can imagine a pick-and-roll with Karl-Anthony Towns would be one of the most devastating plays in the entire NBA.

Will it happen?

The eventual decision on this debate will fall into the hands of the men making millions of dollars to do so. Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden each signed pricey deals last off-season to make the right choice on a scenario just like this. It can almost be guaranteed that their evaluation of this situation is much deeper than any of us can imagine. Advanced analytics will be used, player projections will be made, and the business side of the equation will be considered.

It is important to view this situation holistically. The addition of Kyrie Irving would push the Timberwolves timetable up drastically and risk some of the future. But it would also give them potentially the best collection of high-end talent in the NBA outside of Golden State. In an era that will be defined by super-teams and collections of stars, the Wolves would have an assembly to compete with anyone. The group of Towns, Butler, and Irving wouldn’t just be great on the court, but they would give you three stars to recruit other high-caliber players in order to further boost the roster.

If you’re firmly in the keep-Wiggins camp, there is no swooping argument that can be made to instantly change your mind. The idea of Andrew Wiggins and Jimmy Butler dominating opposing wings on a nightly basis with their sheer physical gifts is enough to make any Wolves fan’s mouth water (seriously, imagine C.J. McCollum or James Harden attempting to guard Andrew Wiggins for an entire game).

Also, acquiring Irving is by no means a foolproof plan. The fit with Jeff Teague might be irreparably awkward. The roster would be severely unbalanced. The depth on with wing would take an even deeper hit. But the ability to add a player of Kyrie’s caliber to a group already consisting of two other top 20 NBA talents would be breathtaking.

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And that, hypothetically speaking, just might be enough to make it all worth it.