Tracy McGrady to Andrew Wiggins: Come work out with me

During a discussion about Andrew Wiggins‘ potential on ESPN’s The Jump, former NBA star Tracy McGrady invited Wiggins to come work out with him over the summer.

There are plenty of player comparisons that make sense for Andrew Wiggins as the former No. 1 overall pick continues to try and improve and reach his seemingly unlimited potential.

From his high school nickname (“Maple Jordan”) to more realistic and hopeful comps such as DeMar DeRozan (more on that in a bit), there are always plenty of options when someone wants to compare a young player to a finished product. And usually, it’s flatly unfair.

One name that hasn’t been bandied about all that much and may only make sense in terms of peak athleticism is Tracy McGrady. But that hasn’t stopped T-Mac from identifying Wiggins as someone that he’d like to work out with and hopefully help the young Timberwolf improve his game.

During a conversation on ESPN’s The Jump that centered around Wiggins’ quote saying he “didn’t have the best season”, Rachel Nichols, Brian Windhorst, and McGrady discussed how Wiggins finished the season and stepped up to an extent in the playoffs.

The segment ended with McGrady stating that he and Wiggins have exchnaged phone numbers and he’d love to work with him during the offseason.

Of course, just because McGrady wants to train with Wiggins doesn’t mean that there games were/are similar. While Wiggins is still looking to find his way after four seasons in the NBA, McGrady was an efficient scorer by Year Three and an All-Star by Year Four — when he was just 21 years old.

The similarities, of course, include age when coming into the league (McGrady was drafted out of high school while Wiggins played just a single season at Kansas), athleticism, and size/position.

McGrady actually launched more mid-range jumpers than Wiggins, simply because of the era in which T-Mac played. But while Wiggins’ free throw rate plummeted this season, McGrady could consistently get to the rim and finish and/or get fouled. The seven-time All-Star had a much better handle than Wiggins, and that was a big reason for it, but there is plenty more that Wiggins could continue to work on.

One note to leave you with regarding Wiggins suddenly looking at the idea of being a “late-bloomer”, despite still only being 23 years old: the video starts with Windhorst talking about how we already know what players will be when they are through four years in the league.

While this is generally true, my favorite comp for Wiggins is Raptors All-Star DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan was a high-minute, low-efficiency shooter who relied almost entirely on his mid-range jumper early in his career. It took until Year 5, his age-24 season, for DeRozan to morph into a truly potent scorer and the All-Star that he is today.

Next: Unpacking the upcoming Timberwolves offseason

More on this to come, but Wolves fans can officially start hoping that a DeRozan-like turnaround is on the horizon for Air Canada.