NBA Rumors: Former Rookie Of The Year Blames Veteran Coach For Career Downfall

Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves has plenty to prove this coming season. The top pick of the 2014 NBA Draft has failed to impress so far and his name was mentioned frequently in trade rumors last summer.

Wiggins showed a lot of promise in his first three years with the Timberwolves. His best season was in 2016-17 where he averaged 23.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. It was also the NBA season where he had the best three-point shooting clip at 35.6-percent. Those numbers dipped starting the 2017-18 NBA season. This was the time when Tom Thibodeau, taking over from Sam Mitchell.

One big adjustment for Wiggins that year was his new role of being a shooting guard. The 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year is best known as a small forward. The reason behind this is Thibodeau felt that Wiggins could play the two-guard and pose matchup problems to opposing teams. Apparently, the ploy never worked for the T-Wolves and Wiggins.

The Canadian recently spoke to Derek James of Canis Hoopus and seemingly threw shade at Thibodeau. It is unclear, however, if his jab was because of that adjustment made during the 2016-17 NBA season.

“I feel like I was on the rise my first three years and then some changes were made,” said Wiggins in that interview after their Tuesday practice.

He also added something interesting, saying that yelling and screaming are not necessarily coaching. The claims of Wiggins is not far off from the complaints of other players who played under Thibs for two NBA seasons.

Regardless, the reality of it all is that the past is past. Wiggins does not have much for an excuse right now, meaning he needs to show his real game. It remains unclear if new head coach Ryan Saunders will use him at the position he is comfortable with.

Wiggins signed a five-year $147-million deal in 2017. Some feel that the T-Wolves overpaid him and now they are paying the price. The 24-year-old will get the chance to prove critics wrong this 2019-20 NBA season. If his performance remains woeful, Wiggins may need to do some soul-searching to improve his game.