5 biggest disappointments of the 2017-18 NBA season

5. Andrew Wiggins’ stagnation

When the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for Jimmy Butler this past summer, it meant one of two things for Andrew Wiggins. Either Butler would take Wiggins under his wing and teach him how to round out his game, or the 2014 No. 1 overall pick would eventually grow frustrated with his reduced role and begin to regret signing the five-year max extension he agreed to in October.

It appears as though he went the latter route.

During a mid-March appearance on 1500 ESPN, Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV said Wiggins has “whispered to teammates” about his unhappiness being a third option behind Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns (via Derek James of 1500 ESPN). Leading the team in field-goal attempts while ranking third in scoring and toward the bottom of the pack in efficiency isn’t enough for him, apparently.

Wiggins’ dip in scoring output shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Minnesota’s addition of capable scorers like Butler, Taj Gibson and Jamal Crawford was bound to reduce his offensive burden. Instead, the biggest concern should be that he hasn’t rounded out his skill set, particularly given the comments team owner Glen Taylor made in August prior to formally offering Wiggins his extension.

“To me, by making this offer, I’m speculating that his contribution to the team will be more in the future,” Taylor told Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press at the time. “We’ve got to be better. He can’t be paid just for what he’s doing today. He’s got to be better.”

When teammates allude to Wiggins having to “want to take over the game,” as Taj Gibson said in March (via Jace Frederick of the Pioneer Press), that should be an enormous red flag to the Timberwolves faithful. It’s still far too early to give up on the 23-year-old, but his lack of well-roundedness is a growing concern considering how much money he’s set to earn over the next half-decade.

Next: 4. The Hornets meet the Treadmill of Mediocrity