Aaron Wiggins Minutes May be Hard to Find With Loaded OKC Roster

After earning a contract last season, Aaron Wiggins may have to earn any minutes this season with a full roster in front of him.

Aaron Wiggins earned his time last season.

He entered the fold in Oklahoma City unsure of what the future held outside of the present. He didn’t have a contract for the future.

His play, though, earned him a four-year contract with the Thunder. However, now entering this season more uncertainties cross Wiggins path. Not whether he’ll be on the team or not, but how much court time will he see with a full — and healthy — roster.

Wiggins played 24.2 minutes per game last season and he averaged 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest in those minutes over a span of 50 games. It’s highly unlikely Wiggins will see the same workload, or likely anywhere near the 24-minute mark heading into the 2022-23 campaign.

If the Thunder were to have a depth chart like a football team heading into the year Wiggins would more than likely be the third option at small forward with Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams slated above him.

With Dort and Williams seeing a large part of the workload, Wiggins likely will find himself on the roster, but not active in most contests unless the opponent calls for more forward depth.

The most likely path to minutes for Wiggins would unfortunately be due to injury. If an injury occurs to either Dort or Williams, Wiggins would see more active time. He could also see a bump if Darius Bazley were to go out.

Wiggins has a skill set that benefits the Thunder, which is why they’ll keep him on the roster through the season, but his minutes may be low to zero and at the least inconsistent.

After playing over 24 minutes per game last year, it’s unlikely to project Wiggins could even consistently notch 10 minutes a game, to no fault of his own, but OKC’s roster is stuffed.

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