Andrew Wiggins, in an unmistakable shot at former Minnesota T-Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, says his NBA career hit a bump after being “on the rise” during his first three seasons.
Wiggins, 24, “worked really hard this summer” and is feeling extremely confident going into training camp.
He adds that he’s looking forward to playing a full season for Ryan Saunders (“a players’ coach.”)
Per Sportsnet (via SKOR North):
“I feel like my first three years I was on the rise and was getting better and better and then some changes were made,” Wiggins said. “I worked really hard this summer, and I’m as confident as I was when I first came into the league.”
The change Wiggins referred to is likely the big move Thibodeau made in the summer of 2017 to acquire Jimmy Butler, a player Thibodeau helped coach and develop while with the Chicago Bulls.
“All the yelling and stuff, I feel, is not going to really change my mood,” Wiggins said of what style of coaching gets the best out of him. “But when a coach comes at me and is real and tells me the real I feel like I respect that a lot more than anyone just yelling. Because anyone can yell, anyone can raise their voice, but not a lot of people can be real. So that goes a long way for me.”
At only 33 years old, Saunders is the youngest coach in the NBA, something that Wiggins says has helped acclimate himself to the Timberwolves players well.
“He’s a players’ coach for sure,” said Wiggins. “He has a great energy about him and I feel like a lot of guys can relate because he’s not too much older than us and I feel like he gets us.”
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