So far, so good for Wiggins
Former coach Thibodueau has eased his transition since being traded
SAN FRANCISCO >> When the Warriors acquired Andrew Wiggins before the NBA trade deadline last week, he probably expected to be greeted by a fresh set of faces.
And while there have been those, too, there have also been plenty of familiar ones around Warriors headquarters since Wiggins arrived.
On Tuesday, Wiggins finished up his second full practice with the Warriors by shooting around with Aaron Miles, a fellow Kansas Jayhawk. He’s also seen plenty of his former coach Tom Thibodeau, who has been spending the past week at the Golden State facility as part of a league-wide tour.
Wiggins played his second game in front of the home fans Monday night, playing the most minutes of any Golden State player in a 113-101 loss to the Miami Heat. Still, coach Steve Kerr said to expect an adjustment period, like Kevin Durant.
Here are three takeaways from Warriors practice Tuesday:
FAMILIAR FACES >> Wiggins has not yet experienced a practice in a Golden State uniform without the presence of his former coach. He played the past three seasons under Thibodeau in Minnesota and credited him with teaching him “everything.”
“He was great for me. Me and him, we were really good. I respect him as a coach, as a person,” Wiggins said Tuesday. “He’s the most consistent person I‘ve been around, whether we’re just talking or it’s the game-day routine leading up to the game. It was always the same no matter what.”
It’s purely coincidental that Thibodeau was in the building the week the Warriors acquired Wiggins. He had arrived prior to the trade and gave Wiggins a sterling recommendation in the leadup to the trade.
At first, Wiggins didn’t believe his eyes.
“I kept walking past him and didn’t really see his face, just the back of him,” Wiggins said. “Then when I realized it was him, I went up and talked to him for a while. It was good catching up and good seeing him.”
While Thibodeau has his own agenda, spending this season — his first away from coaching in more than two decades — visiting teams around the league, it’s not unheard of for Kerr to bring in other coaches on his own volition.
He pointed to Jeff Hornacek and David Fizdale as a couple coaches who have come in to give an outside perspective.
“It’s always great to get a fresh set of eyes and another perspective from coaches who maybe have coached against us and against our players, or in
this case, have coached some of our guys,” Kerr said. “It’s just been a really good set of events where I get to pick Tom’s brain.” EARLY ACCLIMATION >> Wiggins has two games under his belt in a Golden State uniform. Monday night, he matched every Warrior but Jordan Poole in plusminus (plus-6) and everybody but Damion Lee in points (18).
It was just the second of about 30 for Wiggins this season with the Warriors.
That means 30 games of data points to study. Thirty games of acclimating to the offensive playbook. Thirty games to pick up the Golden State defensive mentality.
“We feel like this is really a positive thing that we’re getting Andrew with a couple months to go in the season,” Kerr said. “By the end of this season and going into next, he’s going to have a much better feel for what we’re all about.”
By acquiring Wiggins
with a quarter of a throwaway season to go, it should help eliminate any growing pains that would’ve had to be ironed out after an offseason move, like Kevin Durant.
Kerr believes it took three months for Durant to get up to full speed with the Warriors.
“I was thinking this morning about when Kevin Durant arrived how long it took Kevin to acclimate to our style of play,” he said. “After about three months, everything clicked. But in those first few months, there was some exploration, some frustration. There was a lot of watching film and questions. But once he got acclimated, he was off to the races. That’s a good reminder for any new player coming in, no matter how talented, there’s an adjustment period.”
For Wiggins, the frenetic Golden State offense will take some adjusting to after five and a half seasons
in Minnesota.
The team is incorporating a play or so per day into Wiggins’ playbook. DEALING WITH DOUBTERS >> In Minnesota, Wiggins developed a reputation for a lackadaisical attitude, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. He’s surrounded by a different culture here.
The Warriors’ system, too, Wiggins believes is more conducive to his style of play.
“I feel like (the Warriors’) style of play suits me and how I play the game of basketball,” Wiggins said. “Every game, every practice we have, it’s becoming more natural.”
As for the haters? “Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion,” Wiggins said. “Real ballers who have been there and done that, I respect their opinion. But if you haven’t been there and done that, you’re entitled to your own opinion but I’m not really thinking too deep into it.”