Andrew Wiggins’ Rookie of the Year odds Improve with Timberwolves Trade

Now that we’ve finally reached the end of this Andrew Wiggins trade fiasco, maybe all’s well that ends well.

Earlier this summer I wrote about how the Cleveland Cavaliers would be smart to forget about trading for Kevin Love and hold onto Wiggins, building a strong young nucleus instead of riding LeBron James’ coattails in search of an NBA Championship. Well, while it would have been fantastic to see Wiggins grow alongside James, the trade might be for the best.

Word has it that the first call James made after signing with Cleveland was to Kevin Love. So that speaks to his mindset about playing with the two young Canadians Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. LeBron is looking for rings and doesn’t have any interest mentoring anyone at this point in his career. If Wiggins and Bennett had stayed in Cleveland, developing them into future superstars would have been well down the totem pole.

In Minnesota, it’s going to be the Wiggins and Bennett show. Wiggins, who is known as a player who sometimes isn’t selfish enough with the ball to create his own shots, will be forced to be “the man” a lot sooner than later. The NBA betting community took notice too. Wiggins went from +600 to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award to +400, now just behind Jabari Parker (+300).

“It’s been a crazy summer, really up and down. Kind of lost, not really knowing where I’m going,” Wiggins said at his first press conference in Minnesota. “But I wanted to play for a team that wanted me. I felt the love as soon as I got off the plane at the airport, so it’s all good now. I’m excited for this season.”

This season, the Timberwolves are clearly in a rebuilding mode priced at +16000 to win the NBA title this season. Still, they have a great young nucleus now with the likes of Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, and Thaddeus Young to help guide the way for their new additions. Bennett really needed a change of scenery after a disastrous rookie season and he should be able to help Wiggins through the stress of being a No. 1 pick.

“It’s a great fan base, great team coming up where everybody’s young,” Bennett told reporters. “We have some vets, too. I’m just here to learn from everybody.”