When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Andrew Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the former No. 1 NBA draft pick wasn’t pleased. It’s safe to say it all worked out for him. The former Kansas Jayhawks star was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year at the end of the 2014-15 season. He received 110 first-place votes.

During the vote, players were awarded five points for a first-place vote, three points for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place vote.


Wiggins received a total of 604 points for an easy win. Nikola Mirotic finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting with 335 points while Nerlens Noel finished No. 3 with 141 points.

At first Wiggins may have not wanted to join the Wolves, but now it doesn’t sound like he ever wants to leave.

"I hope I'm here forever," Wiggins told The Associated Press after receiving his rookie of the year award. "I hope. It would be nice."

Kevin Love

There were some people in Minnesota who wanted the team to do whatever it had to do to keep Love. Turns out it’s a good thing the team let him go. The Cavaliers thought they were acquiring a player who was better suited to help them win right away, but they couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only is Wiggins way more talented than Love could ever dream of being, he’s arguably already a much better NBA player.

The Wolves haven’t got a lot right in recent years, but pulling the trigger on the Wiggins deal may have made up for all of the bad mistakes they  have made in the past.

"We hit a home run in this trade," Timberwolves GM Milt Newton told The AP. "The talent level is undeniable. The talent level is one that he can be a perennial All-Star for years and years to come. He is the cornerstone that when we put a better surrounding cast, and that is our job, he can take us to that level."

Undoubtedly Raw

Just like any rookie, Wiggins is obviously raw and has a lot to learn before he can be considered one of the best players in the league. However, nobody can argue the fact that Wiggins has all of the God-given talent and ability to eventually become one of the best players in the league.

It also helps that Wiggins is a quick learner. During the last month of the season, Wiggins averaged 23.3 points and 3.5 assists per game while playing nearly 40 minutes per game.

"It's been great up here," Wiggins said. "Everybody's been showing me love. It's not too busy up here. It's perfect. It's cold, just like Toronto. I'm used to it. I couldn't really ask for nothing more up here. I like it up here."

The Next Step

Wiggins has an opportunity to become Minnesota’s most loved athlete, but he still has to get over one major hurdle – he must lead Minnesota to the playoffs.

One of the reasons the Wolves decided it was time to get rid of Love is because he was never able to lead Minnesota to the postseason. It has been 11-years since the Timberwolves have sniffed the playoffs, and it’s only a matter of time before the city turns on Wiggins, just like it did with Love, if they don’t make the postseason.

Wiggins vs. Love

I don’t think there’s any doubt that the Cavaliers messed up when they traded Wiggins for Love. Even if Love was healthy, which he isn’t, the Cavaliers would have still been better suited to win a championship with Wiggins. Of course there would have been some growing pains, but ultimately Wiggins is a much better player than Love.

And it’s safe to assume that Wiggins would have been a much better teammate than Love. It doesn’t seem like anyone in Cleveland gets along with Love. Wiggins, on the other hand, would have done everything in his power to get along with LeBron James because Wiggins would have understood that he had a lot to learn from the best player in the NBA today.