Tim Kawakami claims that the Golden State Warriors would now be open to investigating Andrew Wiggins’ trade market, which is a change from previously stated objectives. Since he signed his relatively cheap contract in October of last year, the team had previously shown little interest in moving the former All-Star.
Even still, there’s a significant gap between this rumor and a real Wiggins deal, so the Warriors’ willingness to entertain the idea is notable. Wiggins was an All-Star starter and a Finals hero during the 2022 team’s championship run less than two years ago. What has altered, then?
First and foremost, Wiggins hasn’t performed as well as he did during the 2021–2022 season. Due to an undisclosed personal matter, he missed a significant portion of the previous season. This season, he has been so disappointing that Jonathan Kuminga benched him.
Wiggins is averaging 12.6 points and 4.4 rebounds through 27 games while shooting 29.9% from three-point range and 42.6% from the field. These are his lowest career marks for scoring and 3-point shooting. He hasn’t pulled down as few rebounds since his third-season campaign in the league in 2017. Based on his prior success, his four-year, $109 million extension appeared like a good deal, but it’s too much to pay for a bench player. Whether Wiggins is assigned to that position going forward is yet to be determined, but if so, it would be prudent to look into trade possibilities.
In the meantime, Kuminga is having some of his best basketball of the season and shares nearly Wiggins’ physical attributes and skill set. The Warriors may have to make a decision because the two haven’t demonstrated an ability to play together thus far. The Warriors might consider the younger Kuminga as their best option going forward if he can provide you with a large portion of Wiggins’ production at a lower cost. Kuminga is eligible for a rookie extension next year. Wiggins would become much more disposable in this way.
The Warriors’ position in the standings come the Feb. 8 trade deadline will be another element in their decision-making process. At 15-16, they are now in 11th place in the Western Conference, which puts them on the outside of even the Play-In Tournament. They are just 2.5 games off of sixth place, however, and could easily be right in the top-six mix by then.
To that point, it’s worth looking back to general manager Mike Dunleavy’s remarks on the roster in the aftermath of Draymond Green’s extended suspension.
“I think the bigger impact will be how we do the next 15, 20 games,” Dunleavy stated on Dec. 14. “That’ll probably decide where we go. … I don’t believe I need any further appraisal of Draymond as a player. We need a bit more examination of this team: the chemistry, the lineups and everything that. “I believe we’re correct there, but eventually our record will need to adjust. We’re going to have to move beyond .500 and start winning some games. And if not, we’ll have to re-evaluate.”
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