Getty Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors have an amazing roster. Not only do they have enough talent to compete for a championship this season, but they also have a great group of young players ready to carry the team into the future once the current core retires.
However, before they can get to that point, Golden State will have some tough financial decisions to make. In the next two offseasons, Jordan Poole, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins will all need contract extensions, and the Warriors won’t be able to pay everyone.
Green and Thompson are likely staying in Golden State, as it’s unlikely Stephen Curry would sign off on them leaving. That means the team would have to decide between Poole and Wiggins. Well, according to sources who spoke to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, Wiggins knows where he wants to be.
“Wiggins is like the opposite version of Harrison Barnes, where Barnes won rings early, then wanted to get a bigger role and be the star. He got to do that for some bad teams and now it is, ‘Jeez, I wish I was winning again.’ Wiggins is going the opposite way. He’s pretty well set on staying with the Warriors, if they can pay him,” a Western Conference executive told Deveney.
Based on that, it seems as though Wiggins is set on staying with the Warriors. He played a crucial role in their title run last year and should be a dominant two-way force for years to come.
On the other hand, Poole’s future in Golden State could be up in the air.
Poole Could Want to Leave Warriors
That same source spoke to Deveney about Poole. He said that while Wiggins is the opposite of Barnes, Poole is the same. At just 23 years old, Poole might be itching to leave the Warriors in favor of having a larger role elsewhere.
“Poole, though, could have some [Harrison] Barnes in him,” the executive explained. “He got to show what he can do a bit when everyone was hurt and the team was bad, but he got pushed back within the team once Klay was healthy and everyone was talking about Wiggins and all. It depends on how they handle this contract. But if he gets the sense they do not want him, yeah, he is the one I could imagine looking elsewhere, like Barnes did. Of course, they replaced Barnes with Durant. Maybe they’ll do the same with Poole.”
And while it may seem smart to keep both Poole and Wiggins over the aging veterans, that likely wouldn’t fly with Curry.
Curry Won’t Let Warriors Ditch Green or Thompson
If the Warriors wanted to plan for the future rather than taking a short-sighted approach, parting ways with one of Green of Thompson could be the smarter decision. However, Curry probably wouldn’t sign off on that.
“Steph terrifies them in that front office. I mean, within reason. Steph wanted Avery Bradley last year but they wanted Gary Payton II. They did not listen to him and there was no problem with that. I think Steph likes to have a voice but does not get caught up in dictating moves.
“Klay and Draymond, though, that would be different. If they moved on from either one, they had better make a good case as to why to Steph. Or they can alienate him. I don’t know what a p***ed off Steph would be like to deal with, he never seems to be that way. But they don’t want to find out. They can move either guy they just have got to realize, they’ve got to make the case to Steph for that,” the a West executive told Deveney.
Wiggins seems committed, Poole might be flaky, and Curry runs the show. Golden State’s financial situation will certainly be one to watch over the next few years.
