Andrew Wiggins must be “main contributor," says T-wolves New President

Drama ensued last season in Minnesota when Jimmy Butler accused his teammates of not wanting to win.

Butler's exit torpedoed the team and ended the Tom Thibodeau era as the Timberwolves pretty much became more of a figurative definition of a train wreck.

Ryan Saunders took over as a head coach, he brought the best out of the pieces he was left with as Derrick Rose found his lost fire while helping Josh Okogie find his place.

The young coach bonded with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins as he puts his faith in them as the future stars of his dysfunctional team. 

More pressure is put on the latter to deliver.

Untapped potential

The Timberwolves drafted Jarrett Culver last summer. The team is hoping they drafted a player which will live up to the amount of potential they see in him.

Minnesota also brought in the aggressive Gersson Rosas to take over as team president. The former Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Houston Rockets has a tough task at hand.

Pressure is on Rosas to reshape the franchise and turn it into one that can live up to its potential. The main goal is to take the team back to the playoffs.

Rosas pointed out that the team needs more consistency out of Andrew Wiggins. The former first overall pick has the stats but isn't making much difference in games.

Lack of efficiency

Most fans and probably players alike have have moved on from Wiggins, who happens to be a max player for the Timberwolves. Wiggins still has four years and $122 million left on his max contract. 

Wiggins' career average of 19.4 points per game looks good on paper but those points weren't scored efficiently nor consistently. In fact, Wiggins wasn't even the best rookie in his class. He only got a free ride after Jabari Parker injured his ACL early into their rookie season.

He averaged 18.1 points per game last season as the second option on offense. Though Towns is the team's main man, Wiggins has to step up his below-average wing play.

Year six is crucial

Wiggins' contract isn't cheap. As proven in the past, no contract is untradeable in the NBA. A contract as huge a Wiggins' is good to move around two to three times before it expires. 

He needs to take some steps forward and adopt a winning attitude that he did not have in the last five. Of course Towns also needs to have the same if they want to make it through a tough Western Conference.

Both Wiggins and Towns are more concerned with bragging about stats than actually winning. It's what upset Jimmy Butler and made him want to leave after wanting to play there initially.

Rosas also pointed out that the team needs more consistent defense from Towns. Coach Saunders seemed to connect with Towns and got him to defend last season. 

Robert Covington also did a good job playing MIC linebacker calling out coverages and getting guys in position before going down with an injury. Covington will good to go at the start of the season and Rosas hopes he does the same again.

The new team president has high hopes that the Timberwolves will improve on defense. It's only a question of how it will get them to the playoffs.

Wiggins and Towns should stop focusing on stats and start focusing on winning first. There is already the needed offensive firepower. All they have to do is convert them into wins.

Will Andrew Wiggins step up this season or will he continue with the mediocre performance? Tell us your prediction in the comments below.

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