Trial by fire has Wiggins on fast track to success

Josh Lewenberg

TSN Raptors Reporter

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MINNEAPOLIS - When the Raptors drafted Bruno Caboclo 19 picks after Canadian phenom Andrew Wiggins was selected first overall, they had a very different development plan in mind for the 19-year-old Brazilian.

Caboclo has played a grand total of 23 minutes in his first NBA season, roughly 13 fewer than Wiggins plays per contest. The Timberwolves' young star and soon-to-be Rookie of the Year has appeared in every game, the only player on his team to do so.

Employed by a winning and playoff-bound club, Caboclo has been forced to watch from the bench, learn in practice and make a couple trips down to the Development League, while Wiggins - like most first-overall picks - is getting the full rookie experience.

Although there's no definitive blueprint for developing successful NBA players, the trial by fire approach has Wiggins on the fast track to stardom.

"It's been good for me," said the 20-year-old Vaughan, Ont. native following a 113-99 loss to the Raptors, his hometown team. "A chance to really learn and experience different things, put me in different positions. I think it will really help me next year."

Wednesday's game had long been out of reach when Caboclo entered to a standing ovation from traveling Raptors fans scattered around Minnesota's Target Center. With three and a half minutes remaining and Toronto up by 24, Wiggins went right at the Caboclo, hitting a lay-up and drawing a foul on the Raptors' rookie. Without hesitation, Caboclo drove at him on the next possession, just missing a running bank shot.

The two rookies shared the floor for just over two minutes. Outside of that, they don't have much in common.

Sure, Wiggins has faced the type of growing pains you might expect from any first-year player. He started off slow as he got his feet wet in the league and, to his own admission, he's hit something of a rookie wall down the stretch. But, granted the freedom to play through and learn from his mistakes, the talented young forward has blossomed, living up to his lofty expectations as a freshman.

"He's an athletic young man that's playing in a situation where he's the main focus," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said of Wiggins, who had a game-high 25 points, launching 20 shots in 43 minutes of action Wednesday. "[He has the] ultimate green light, which is going to help him. It doesn't equate to a lot of wins right now but it's going to help him as an individual to grow and develop as a player."

If not for a pre-season trade to Minnesota, Wiggins would have spent his rookie season playing alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving for a team expecting to contend in Cleveland. He still would have gotten plenty of run, while learning from the best player in the association, but the leash would have been smaller, the pressure much higher.

Ravaged by injuries - they've lost 270 games to injury or illness - the Timberwolves have had to turn to their young players, with an emphasis on building for the future. Wiggins is taking advantage of the opportunity he's been given to sink or swim as a pro, playing just under 36 minutes and taking 14 shots per night, but not everyone in his shoes is able or willing to do the same.

There's a long list of first-round picks that are force-fed playing time early in their careers and never reach that potential. Take former Raptors first-overall pick Andrea Bargnani for example. Some, like Wiggins, thrive right out of the gate while others develop at their own pace.

DeMar DeRozan started 65 of his 77 games as a rookie back in 2009-10, logging 22 minutes per contest. In year two he played more than any other Raptors player, but it wasn't until his fifth season that he and the team really started to reap the benefits. DeRozan blossomed into an all-star in 2013-14 and helped lead Toronto to the playoffs after four losing seasons to begin his career.

"It's much easier to develop a younger player in a rebuilding situation," Casey said. "I remember the first couple years DeMar DeRozan really got going here. But in Bruno's situation it's very difficult just because there's really not a lot of practice time, there's not a lot of minutes on the floor for him. Whereas with Wiggins, he's going to play as many [minutes] as his body can stand and make as many mistakes as he can. He's going to get his shots and touches to develop his game against other NBA players when the lights are on, when you have NBA officials. And that's invaluable."

Although it will almost certainly take the raw and inexperienced Caboclo longer to develop from the bench, the Raptors' beloved rookie can still make the best of his opportunity to grow in a winning environment.

In Amir Johnson, the Raptors have a player that once followed a similar path. Johnson - the last player to go straight from high school to the pros before the league raised their age limit - played in just 11 games during his first two years with a pair of contending Pistons teams, making three separate trips to the D-League. Ten years into what has become a successful NBA career, the forward insists it's more about the player than the environment he's brought into.

"I feel like it's just pretty much up to that individual," Johnson said. "As long as you work hard and make yourself better on a losing or a winning team, I feel like you can succeed no matter what. I was fortunate enough to have a great group of guys to keep me motivated but the main thing was myself. I had to stay humble, I had to keep working, I had to do all the extra stuff to get me to where I am now."

"It's up to him. No matter what the situation you're in, I feel like he can [determine] his own fate, no matter what situation he's in. You basically have to play the hand you're dealt."

"You get something out of both [situations]," Patrick Patterson echoed. "Going back to my rookie year, I didn't play at all until the second half of the season. I was in the D-League for two years and here I am now. So either way it doesn't matter as long as you have the right mentality, the right mindset, the right focus, you have a schedule that you follow day-to-day and you're willing to learn."

For Wiggins, the early returns are positive.

"He's a very coachable kid, to start off with," said veteran teammate Kevin Martin. "He loves the game so he's going to listen to anything that Kevin Garnett says to him, [head coach Flip Saunders] says to him or [assistant coach] Sam Mitchell. So for a guy that has potential like he does, that's one of the things you want to see from a young player."

"For him to maximize his potential he needed that trade back in August," Martin continued. "He was going to play with a couple guys where he would've probably never seen the ball but for him to come here, especially with our injuries, he had to take on a lot of responsibilities. It's been a great sight to see."

Evaluating Caboclo's progress is much trickier. He's only gotten in seven games as a rookie, playing briefly in garbage time. Understandably, the nerves still consume him. His upside is undeniable but he's got a long way to go.

"It's going to be a big summer for him," Casey said of Caboclo. "This summer's going to be huge for he and [fellow rookie Lucas Nogueira]. Summer League is going to be big, individual workouts are going to be huge, strength and conditioning program is going to be huge for him. Still continuing to work on his English will be big. So this summer is going be very important for him from a developmental standpoint going forward."