Will Thunder Guard Aaron Wiggins Find Rotational Minutes This Season?
Aaron Wiggins was the 55th overall pick in the 2021 draft, and was a 23-year-old rookie, which, given the Oklahoma City Thunder’s rebuild standings, seemed odd.
He’s proven to be a consistent, reliable swiss knife player. With the ability to shoot, even though his percentages from last season may not show it, and being able to drive and create his own shot inside, Wiggins is a solid complimentary player. We’ve seen his ability to get hot from beyond the arc, and put up 20-point games, which he did in a stretch of a few games last season.
So he’s an older, young player on a rebuilding team, but the Thunder liked his potential enough to convert his two-way contract into a four-year deal. Considering they gave him the deal, we’ll likely see Wiggins make it through the roster crunch.
He’ll have to carve minutes through the likes of Jalen Williams, Tre Mann, Ousmane Dieng, and of course, Lu Dort.
In 50 games played, Wiggins averaged 8.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.4 APG with 24.2 MPG. He started 35 of those games, in large part due to injuries.
Tre Mann’s upside as a scorer off the bench will allow him a lot of minutes at the wing position. Dieng being a project may clear up some room, as Dieng will maximize reps, even if that means taking some of them in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue.
Jalen Williams will likely take most of his reps with the main squad, which will get in the way of Wiggins’ minutes.
It won’t be rare to see Wiggins on the court, but it will depend on other players taking reps in the G League and taking a step back in the rotation for short periods of time.
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