OKC Thunder veteran Aaron Wiggins has been all but invisible throughout these first two rounds of the postseason, logging a combined 40 minutes over his six games played.
It's a stark contrast to both his role during the regular season and even in last year's playoff run, when he recorded two double-digit scoring games in the NBA Finals.
With a star-studded cast clogging up the backcourt, Wiggins has now found himself on the outside looking in on coach Mark Daigneault's rotation. However, it's not as much a reflection of him as it is the elite depth around him.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon enlightened the world of this very fact.
After their Western Conference Semifinals sweep over the Lakers, a Los Angeles staff member confidentially told him that if Wiggins were on the Lakers, he would've been playing at least 25 minutes per game.
It was well known throughout the series that the Thunder were the deeper team, as only Luke Kennard consistently played over 20 minutes off the bench for Los Angeles. With this in mind, Wiggins could've hypothetically played the role of a sixth or seventh man had he simply not been a member of this insanely deep OKC squad.
Thunder must act on such a revealing Aaron Wiggins sentiment
These remarks make one thing abundantly clear: The Thunder have end-of-bench pieces that other teams would kill to have in their main rotation.
Especially with the ongoing breakouts of guys like Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain, the rising level of talent on this team has made Wiggins rather expendable.
Of course, this is not to say that he isn't remarkably valuable when given his opportunity. Far from it, in fact.
In games where he played at least 30 minutes this season, Wiggins posted averages of 17.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.
Last season, he averaged an impressive 21.4 points in such outings.
Now, he finds himself playing the role of cheerleader, not because he's lost a step, but, rather, because the Thunder are simply that good.
If OKC's 13th or 14th man is considered to be a valuable piece by the fourth-best team in the Western Conference, who knows what type of bidding war could ensue if Sam Presti were to put the guard up for auction come the offseason.
It also begs the question of how much others are worth as well.
Wiggins was eighth on the team in minutes during the regular season. Others with similar playing time include Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe, and Jaylin Williams.
Such names could easily be packaged into an offseason transaction, be it to acquire future assets to further Oklahoma City's dynasty aspirations or to acquire more upper-echelon players.
This recent reveal from MacMahon only sheds more light on the exciting fact that the Thunder have what the rest of the league wants, and it may be high time they start taking full advantage of this interest.
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