Souhan: Wiggins offers more fizzle than sizzle in NBA debut

MEMPHIS – You can call him a building block, but at 6-8 and a reputed 199 pounds, Andrew Wiggins looks more like human scaffolding, a frame on which to construct a star and around which to construct a team.

The long, lithe rookie made his NBA debut Wednesday at the FedExForum. He spent most of the first half watching his teammates pass the ball to each other, and most of the second half watching from the bench with foul trouble.

The movie equivalent of his introduction would have been smacking his forehead against the boom mic. The future franchise player finished with six points, four fouls, two steals, two turnovers, one assist and three rebounds in 19 minutes, as the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves 105-101.

"It was good," Wiggins said. "It was exciting. I got into early foul trouble, so it's hard to get in the groove."

On the game's first possession, Wiggins knocked away a pass for his first NBA steal. On offense, covered by defensive specialist Tony Allen, he tipped the ball early in the first quarter and didn't actually grasp it until, with 6 minutes, 27 seconds left in the first quarter, he took a pass, posted up along the right baseline and flew toward the hoop, drawing a foul.

Wiggins hit one of the two free throws, for his first NBA point. At halftime, he had more fouls (three) than shots (two).

In the third quarter, Wiggins, urged by coach Flip Saunders to assert himself on offense, began to warm to the task. Early in the quarter, point guard Ricky Rubio dribbled into the lane and passed to Wiggins on the wing. Wiggins buried a three.

"Wig played well at times," Saunders said. "He had a great challenge with Allen. I purposely went to him a little bit. Tony's the best defensive player in the league. That's a good situation for Wig to grow up a little bit, and understand the physicality of the league."

Wiggins didn't assert himself offensively in his one season at Kansas, and he rarely commanded the ball in his NBA debut. No matter how talented he is, NBA teammates aren't going to wait around for him to take a shot. "We're going to have to feed him the ball a little bit," Saunders said.

It's in the art and science of the half-court, where everything from spacing to interpersonal relationships with ballhandlers can determine success, where Wiggins will have to grow if he's going to make an impact as a rookie.

He's also going to have to learn how to stay out of foul trouble. NBA referees would rather forgo their hair products than give the benefit of doubt to rookies. Wiggins not only has to avoid committing silly fouls, he needs to learn to avoid even the appearance of fouls.

"This is my first game, so I don't know whether it killed my playing time or not," said Wiggins, who was hardly effusive or expansive after the game.

Saunders should hope Wiggins was watching Thaddeus Young, who showed the rookie how to create space for himself and get his shot off in traffic.

"I learned a lot," Wiggins said. "I'm probably going to think about it the whole plane ride home."

Kevin Love started his career with 12 points and nine rebounds. In his debut, Kevin Garnett produced just eight points and one rebound.

Even if insignificant, Wiggins' debut felt a little awkward, like a hug between distant relatives. At 19, Wiggins has a long way to go and a long time to get there.

Jim Souhan can be heard weekdays at noon and Sundays from 10 to noon on 1500 ESPN. @SouhanStrib • jsouhan@startribune.com