Golden State Warriors: Butler’s success calls Andrew Wiggins into question

The Golden State Warriors should be looking at Andrew Wiggins in a new light following the successful redemption of Jimmy Butler.

Andrew Wiggins has a chance to reverse the narrative of his career by acting as a reliable third option for the Golden State Warriors. However, this recent run from Jimmy Butler could call Wiggins’ chances of improving into question.

Butler has had a bumpy NBA career. He forced his way out of Chicago, only to stir up problems in Minnesota when he repeatedly clashed with the Timberwolves’ young core featuring Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. It was presumed that Butlers’ gritty work ethic didn’t mesh well with the reluctant Wiggins and Towns.

As a result, Butler was shipped to Philadelphia – where he ran into similar problems with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Butler demanded more than he was getting out of his star teammates and was soon deemed unworthy of a max contract before landing in Miami.

Here, Butler proved the world wrong and washed his reputation. Finally surrounded by players cut from his same cloth, Butler helped rally the Heat to an NBA Finals appearance where he averaged 26.9 points, 9.8 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals on 55.2 percent shooting as he pushed the Los Angeles Lakers to the brink of a Game 7.

Within just a year, Butler went from a lockerroom cancer to one of the best leaders in the game. This has us looking back at his previous stints and wondering if Butler was right all along? I mean, the Wolves have yet to reach the playoffs without him and the 76ers are on the edge of flaming out with their duo of Simmons and Embiid.

A key aspect of Wiggins’ potential success with the Dubs will rely on his ability to improve. Can he adjust to his role as a third option? Will Wiggins be able to shoot consistently enough from the 3-point line? Most of all, can Wiggins become a good enough perimeter defender to keep the Warriors in title contention?

All of these factors will play a role in whether or not Wiggins’ time in Golden State is remembered fondly. While we hope the Dubs are in a position to bring the best out of Wiggins, Jimmy’s recent redemption should have us thinking deeper about his character.

Of course, just as quickly as Butler’s reputation changed, so could Wiggins. We truly don’t know what happened between the two in Minnesota and it’s perfectly possible Wiggins has changed since then. Hopefully, Wiggins shows us all what he’s made of next season.