Warriors’ Wiggins shaped up body, reputation in offseason
Last month, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, playerdevelopment coach Seth Cooper and director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini visited forward Andrew Wiggins at a Los Angelesarea gym.
Over the course of a couple of hours, Kerr, Cooper and Celebrini watched Wiggins work out before talking to him about expectations for next season: what role he’ll play, what to work on, how to complement Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. This type of checkin was hardly unusual for the Warriors. But after 51⁄2 seasons with a dysfunctional Timberwolves franchise, Wiggins appreciated the support.
“It meant a lot,” said Wiggins, who sat out Monday’s practice with neck stiffness. “It showed that (Kerr) cares about how I’m doing, where I’m working out, what I’ve been up to. It meant a lot for him and a couple of the coaches to come up and see the offseason grind.”
During his more than halfdecade in Minnesota, Wiggins played for four head coaches, appeared in one playoff series and drew criticism from then-teammate Jimmy Butler for a perceived lack of toughness. Now, less than eight months after a blockbuster trade landed him with Golden State, Wiggins is beginning to find stability and reshape his reputation.
Teammates and coaches praise his diligence in the weight room. Unlike the Timberwolves, who were desperate to unload Wiggins’ massive contract, the Warriors view him as a longterm building block. The plan is for Wiggins to fill a role similar to the one Harrison Barnes occupied on the 201415 championship team — a versatile forward who can benefit from the spacing Curry and Thompson provide, attack closeouts, play hard on defense and knock down jumpers.
Judging by the early reviews from offseason minicamp, Wiggins is on track to make good on the Warriors’ faith in him. On multiple occasions, players left the floor after guarding Wiggins in practice and remarked, “Man, he is strong.”
This brawn should allow Golden State to use Wiggins plenty as a power forward in smallball lineups. As Kerr put it, “I think there’s a very good chance you’ll see Andrew at the four, Draymond (Green) at the five and a lot of floor spacing along the perimeter. … It could be a good lineup for us.”
Perhaps more surprising, however, has been the mildmannered Wiggins’ development as a vocal leader.
With Curry and Green both out of the minicamp for family reasons, Wiggins recognizes that, even though he only played 12 games with Golden State last season, he is one of the team’s most experienced players. In practices, Wiggins has peppered younger teammates with pointers, barked out directives during drills and stayed late to hoist extra shots.
This is in stark contrast to the reputation he developed with the Timberwolves as a lazy, overpaid swingman whose casual defense and poor shot selection didn’t serve winning. But as Wiggins impressed during a limited sample size with the Warriors last season, Kerr was adamant that the chatter surrounding Wiggins was so negative that the former No. 1 pick had become underrated.
As speculation continues about the possibility of Golden State packaging Wiggins in a trade for a superstar player such as Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kerr is proceeding as though Wiggins has plugged the Warriors’ hole at small forward. To help Wiggins maximize his physical gifts, Kerr has given him a todo list that includes improving his offball movement, cutting harder toward the rim and becoming more consistent with his jump shot.
In coming days, Wiggins hopes to scrimmage with Thompson, who missed last season with a torn ACL. By the time Curry and Green arrive for next season’s training camp, Wiggins should understand the nuances of the Warriors’ system.
“I haven’t really picked up any new hobbies,” Wiggins said of his extended offseason. “It’s pretty much just basketball and video games.”
Injury update: In addition to Wiggins, forward Eric Paschall (conditioning) didn’t participate in workouts Monday. Thompson participated in practice except for scrimmage work. During that time, he practiced 1on1 with player mentor coach Leandro Barbosa.
“To me, it’s not crucial,” Kerr said of working Thompson into scrimmages. “The season’s obviously several months away, at least. Klay is going to get plenty of 5on5 work in the weeks and months that lead up to that.
“Even though he’s cleared and ready to play 5on5 right now, we’re just trying to take it a step at a time and make sure we’re crossing all of our T’s and dotting our I’s.”