Wiggins Eager to be Traded to Timberwolves, Lynx Loss Locks Them Into 2nd Spot

According to his coach at Kansas, Andrew Wiggins wants to be traded to the Timberwolves.  Speaking at a camp where Wiggins volunteered but did not speak to the media, Self said:

"When all this trade stuff started, I talked to Andrew and Andrew told me, 'I hope I get traded,'" Self said. "And I'm like, 'No you don't.' And he said, 'Coach, I do. It's better for me, knowing my personality and what I need to do, to go somewhere where I'm forced to be something as opposed to going in there where they're going to be patient with me and I'm going to be a piece.'"

There is no doubt that Wiggins will have a chance to have a more prominent role early on in Minnesota than he would in Cleveland. If true, it's interesting to note that he is self-aware enough to know that he has a tendency to defer to others.

In fact, both Self and Wiggins acknowledged that this was something that has to change if he is to achieve stardom:

But, pushed relentlessly by Self, Wiggins got better as the year went on. "Coach Self really, at the end of the year, brought out the dog in me," Wiggins said in a predraft interview with ESPN. "He made me get focused."

Said Self: "He absolutely was too nice. And he's still too nice. Flip [Saunders] will have to get more of that dog in him. He's just young.''

Elsewhere, the Lynx lost to the Mercury on the road, 82-80 on Saturday night in a very tight ballgame that was ultimately won by a Diana Taurasi jumper. Maya Moore scored 30, but Brittney Griner's block of Lindsay Whalen at the buzzer sealed it for Phoenix.

The loss almost cements the Lynx into 2nd place in the Western Conference. The Mercury and Lynx are the two best teams in the league, and a meeting in the Western Conference Finals is likely. If it happens, it could be a magnificent series.

Teams are beginning to take shape (and play practice games) in advance of the World Cup which starts in Spain at the end of August. The U.S. appears as vulnerable as it has been in years, as both Kevin Love and Kevin Durant are out, and the team will be relying on different stars than those who have carried the U.S. over the last three major competitions.

Russian Bee will have more on the World Cup as we get closer.

The regular season schedule will be out sometime this week; rumor has it on Wednesday.

Today in History

1492: Rodrigo de Borgia becomes pope
1863: Cambodia becomes French Protectorate
1914: France declares war on Austria-Hungary
1918: Allies victorious at Battle of Amiens
1929: Babe Ruth first to reach 500 homers
1954: Formal peace between France and Vietminh in Indochina
1965: 6 days of riots begin in Watts

Today's musical birthday is Bob Mothersbaugh, born in 1952, guitarist for DEVO