In a long Sports Illustrated letter, LeBron James mended his relationship with Cleveland and announced that he was “coming home” and rejoining the Cavaliers. James made a pledge to bring a title to his championship starved community and mentioned Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters by name as “talented young guys”. There was one obvious name missing from the letter, Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 overall draft pick selected by the Cavaliers whom many considered the next LeBron when he was in high school. For many it solidified that Wiggins would be traded and he eventually was for Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now some 18 months later, LeBron finally explains why he left Wiggins out.
“I didn’t know the kid, really,” James told Yahoo Sports. “I knew Dion. I knew Kyrie. I knew Tristan. I knew all the guys that I was playing with before. I didn’t know the kid, so it wasn’t no big issue to me.”
“I think the best thing about it is he’s getting an opportunity. He doesn’t have to wait in the shadows for anybody,” James told Yahoo. “He’s getting the opportunity to play and show everybody what he’s able to do, and it’s tough because the West has been so thick the [last] few years; there’s not a lot of room to win a bunch of a games. But I think for him, the sky could be the limit.”
Wiggins has indeed been showing everyone what he can do as he is now the centerpiece of a young, growing team with the Timberwolves.
Wiggins is adamant that he never wonders what could’ve been with his former team.
“I don’t even think about it,” Wiggins told Yahoo. “Being traded, that’s going to happen in basketball. Especially in the NBA.”
