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Timberwolves Owner Glen Taylor Says He's Not Ready to Give Up on Andrew Wiggins
July 14, 2018
Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told 1500 ESPN on Friday that he's keeping faith in Andrew Wiggins following a lackluster 2017-18 season.
"I just think you want to take a person and not give up on them when they're that young, no matter what. I just think you have to be really careful not to give up on him," Taylor said (h/t theScore's William Lou).
"You can look at a lot of players, and it took them three or four years to get better, and they keep getting better from the experience and the confidence. I don't see why Andrew won't be one of those people because he has such natural ability."
To Taylor's point, Wiggins is still just 23 years old and has plenty of time to develop into a full-fledged star.
But after inking a five-year, $146.5 million max contract extension in October, room for patience shrank, and expectations understandably skyrocketed.
Consequently, disappointment set in when Wiggins averaged 17.7 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field and 33.1 percent shooting from three. Plus, his player efficiency rating dropped from 16.5 to a career-low 13.0.
Complicating matters was that Wiggins reportedly wasn't on good terms with new perimeter running mate Jimmy Butler.
According to Sporting News' Sean Deveney, "Butler is uncertain about playing with Wiggins—Butler had problems last season with Wiggins, his work ethic and his approach on the defensive end of the floor."
Taylor expects Wiggins to mesh better with Butler during the 2018-19 season.
"I had expectations of him that to be much better this year, I think the adjustment with Jimmy coming in has taken a little time, but certainly someone of his caliber can make those adjustments and play better," Taylor said. "I know that's Andrew's goal too, so we'll see what he does this summer."
Stats courtesy of Basketball Reference.