SPORT DADDY NEWS NBA
CLEVELAND — Four years ago at the LeBron James Skills Academy, an annual meat market for high school talent, a skinny teenager from Canada caught a pass on the break and elevated ... and elevated ... and elevated for a dunk.
As the player was suspended in mid-air, the host of the event jumped just as high, right out of his courtside chair in anticipation of the earthquake that was about to register. As it were, a hack on the arm ruined everything. A deflatedLeBron James rubbed his face and looked over at Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony seated nearby, as if to say, damn, this kid is legit.
That kid was Andrew Wiggins, one of the most acclaimed players ever produced by The North, an athletic freak who first made a name for himself in the Lower 48 in that camp. The sizzle surrounding Wiggins wasn't quite at the insane level LeBron saw coming out of high school, but perspective is needed. Wiggins was largely sight unseen in Canada — who knew they even played high school ball up there? — yet he still caused a storm.
In the years that followed, Wiggins was wanted by everyone, with the exception of the person who helped put him on the map. As the basketball nation is abuzz today about the touchy subject of Kevin Love and if he's now a poor fit in theNBA Finals against the Warriors, it's quite natural to reflect back two summers ago, when LeBron had to make the third biggest basketball decision of his life:
Love or Wiggins?
When LeBron chose to boomerang back to the Cavaliers in July of 2014, he announced so in a first-person Sports Illustrated story. In that piece, he listed the teammates he was anxious to join: Tristan Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters. No mention of the newcomer who beat him to Cleveland by a few weeks, the No. 1 pick in the draft, a player instantly hailed as the future of the franchise, that same skinny teenager who sent LeBron leaping out of a chair.
Later, LeBron explained his reasoning, and it was curious: "I didn't know the kid, really. I knew Dion. I knew Kyrie. I knew Tristan. It was no big deal to me."
Hey, memories are short.
Well, not long after he pulled on a Cavaliers cap at the draft, Wiggins was traded by the Cavaliers for Kevin Love. That deal would not be possible without LeBron's rubber stamp. His leverage ballooned within the organization the moment his plane landed after a one-way flight from Miami. LeBron figured the Cavs had enough young talent and needed someone established, and Love was a double-double dynamo for seven seasons in Minnesota.
Yet, Love's two years in Cleveland have been, by comparison, a letdown. And now he's being debated in basketball circles: Are the Cavs better off with Love playing a reduced role against the Warriors? This argument gained steam after the Cavs, with Love sitting out because of a concussion, flipped the Finals and blasted Golden State by 30 in Game 3, after losing by 33 in Game 2. Long derided for his inability to contain quicker players, Love does present a concern against the Warriors, who attack him whenever possible.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue remained coy about his plans to use Love, should Love clear concussion protocol and be eligible to play Friday. Lue did say: "We miss his rebounding. We miss his post presence. We miss his three-point shooting. So we definitely want him back."
Wiggins has rapidly gained a reputation for defense, usually the toughest adjustment for any young player. He rotates well, is quick to challenge three-point shooters and has the length and speed and size to guard swing players. He's also a 20-point scorer who can create off the dribble, a contrast to Love, who mainly shoots threes.
So: Would Wiggins have given the Cavs and LeBron a better chance to bring a championship to Cleveland?
These hypotheticals often get extreme conclusions, although in this particular case, maybe it's a bit complicated. If you could at least make a case for why Love was the right choice at the time, there's strong evidence Wiggins is the better choice now.
LeBron went with the known player over the unknown. Love averaged 26 points and 13 rebounds in one season. He could play either forward position and flourish offensively. He could stretch the floor and help on the glass, a rare combo. At least, he could do that based on the numbers, which don't always tell the full story.
The NBA graveyard is filled with stat-stuffers on losing teams, and the fact Love never led the Wolves to the playoffs deserved to be red flagged. Also, he never played with a better player (LeBron) or a point guard who took shots away (Irving) and it took him a full season to adjust to that in Cleveland.
Speaking of which, why is it automatically assumed Wiggins would easily make the transition? He came into the NBA as a teenager who would've been thrust in a high-stakes, win-now atmosphere. There would be no time for constant mistakes or a learning curve. Name the last championship team with a player that young holding down a meaty role. Kawhi Leonard was 23 for the Spurs in 2014. Rajon Rondo wasn't a premier player yet for the Celtics in 2008. Tony Parker, perhaps? Magic Johnson? Been a while.
With the Wolves, Wiggins has the benefit of tame expectations, lack of spotlight and a thick cushion beneath him whenever he falls. Remember, he didn't exactly conquer college basketball in his one season at Kansas, where he was chided for taking too many naps on the floor.
That said, had he stayed with the Cavs, could he be more inconsistent than Love in Cleveland?
The biggest advantage for Wiggins would be defensively. He brings young legs and bounce and XL arms and those would be priceless tools against Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Wiggins would also be a far better scorer in transition (Love rarely runs the floor) and slashing to the rim, drawing fouls.
The other unspoken factor is money. The Cavs are paying the max for Love. Wiggins would've served a rookie contract for at least three seasons, giving the Cavs financial flexibility. Maybe they'd have money to spend on a talent upgrade over JR Smith or Iman Shumpert. That's a domino effect that could've changed two, maybe three players in the rotation.
And Wiggins is barely into his 20s. At some point, when the grind of 13-plus seasons tugs at his tendons, LeBron needs a co-star, a baton-taker, someone who'll eventually relegate him to second-best player on the team. Wiggins, not Love, was that player.
Love joined his team in shooting drills Thursday and showed no apparent issues from getting bonked in the head. He was angry about having to sit Game 3, yet encouraged by the support from teammates. LeBron told him: "Don't worry about it. We got you tonight."
Which they did. Lue will probably maintain the status quo for Game 4, keep Love as the starter and then read the situation from there. That shows confidence in Love without fully committing to him. Coaches usually don't react until there's danger, and then they follow their gut and make a call. Lue has benched Love for entire quarters before; he did so just weeks ago in the Toronto series. Lue said he doesn't worry about a player's feelings when a situation calls for a change that benefits the team.
"I think you just tell the truth," said Lue. "They may not like it at the time, they may be mad for a second, but they can always understand and realize that it's the right thing. If you tell the truth, guys can respect that."
Yes, the truth. It sets your soul free. In that sense, if we could spike LeBron's water bottle with truth serum and ask him if he'd like a do-over, does Wiggins get a shout-out in that first-person story?
BY Shaun Powell
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