Thus, Wiggins joined a forlorn Minnesota organization 10 years into what has become a 13-year playoff drought. He cruised to the NBA’s Kia Rookie of the Year award on a team that won just 16 games that season. The Wolves upped that to 29 and 31 victories the next two seasons, Wiggins boosting his scoring average to 20.7 points per game and 23.6 ppg while often failing to bust a gut or break a sweat.

That, at least, was the reputation he developed, borne from his own admission in high school that he picked and chose the opponents and matchups against which he locked in. If only Wiggins played hard on both ends of the floor, they said. If only his motor revved high every night. If only he relied less on his talents and more on tenacity. If, if, if.

Time of essence for Wolves' young star

Butler wants to change Wiggins’ ifs to whens. And the way Butler is wired, when means now.

“My job is to show him what it takes to win at both ends of the floor and how hard you have to play,” Butler said over the weekend, four victories into what has grown to the five-game winning streak as Wolves face the defending-champion Golden State Warriors tonight.

“The kid is so talented. Everything comes so easy for him. When he gets the mindset that, ‘no matter how talented I am, I have to bring it on every single possession,’ that’s when you’ve got to start talking how great can this kid be. That’s what I want him to understand – you’re one of the most talented players in the league. Don’t take any possessions off.”

Butler is a plow horse who always lets you see him sweat, who got where he is today by dint of hard work. Wiggins is a thoroughbred to whom things seemingly have come easy, no straining necessary beyond the drills, workouts and games asked of any player.

Neither characterization captures Butler or Wiggins in full, but both are close enough that the Wolves -- and much of the NBA -- are watching to see what how much of Butler rubs off on the younger man.

“I think I bring it every night,” Wiggins said casually, not at all defensively, about the criticism he hears most frequently. “This year, we’ve got a good team. So, if someone else is going, someone else is going. But I always bring my game.”

The Wolves rewarded Andrew Wiggins with a contract extension in October.

Actually, everything Wiggins has experienced or accrued so far has come from his potential. He was drafted for it, traded for it and most recently paid for it -- a five-year, $148 million “max” contract extension that starts in 2018. Team owner Glen Taylor took some grief for wanting to meet with Wiggins face-to-face before signing the deal, to make sure the budding star keeps growing his game.

Now Taylor will notice Wiggins looking his way after hitting a tough shot or making a defensive stop, and smiling. Their contract is secure.

Wiggins quietly, confidently raising game

Wiggins’ on-court demeanor flows from his personality, a mostly quiet nature that can make him seem aloof. Close friends and teammates can draw him out when they catch him laughing, but that side rarely shows at Target Center or under the lights of the league’s 28 other venues.

“Wigs is just laid back off the court,” said scorer Jamal Crawford, another veteran player and influence newly added by Minnesota coach and basketball boss Tom Thibodeau. “He’s not one who craves attention. He just comes, does his job, goes home. He’s really, really quiet in that regard. But he brings it -- he has no problem making the big play or taking the big shot. He’s not scared to fail, and that’s a sign of an up-and-coming great player.”

Said Wiggins: “There are a lot of personalities on the court. Some people look like they’re working hard but they’re not. Some people who are working hard don’t look like it.”

Andrew Wiggins delivers a posterizing jam on the Heat's Josh Richardson.

Butler trusts what he can see. As Minnesota’s undisputed leader and updated version of Kevin Garnett as the Wolves’ 24/7 jumper cables, he doesn’t believe a player can modulate his performance against Golden State one night, Dallas the next, without getting bit.

“Can’t have it,” Butler said, the home dressing room otherwise empty after Saturday’s victory over the Mavericks. “Everybody in this league is an NBA player. That’s where he has to grow. He’s a terrific kid, human being, basketball player. But you’ve got to have that killer instinct in this league. You’ve got to have it, man.

“It’s not certain matchups, it’s not against certain teams, it’s not taking things personal. You take it to every team, every matchup. Where you match up to kill and to help this team at all costs.”