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Andrew Wiggins faces something of an uncertain future with the Golden State Warriors, with his name tossed around in trade rumors and his place on the team next year apparently not a given.
But this summer his focus is on a different basketball court more than 5,000 miles away as he tries to lead his home country on an unlikely run into the Olympics and to the medal stand. The Ontario native is one of the key members of Team Canada and has already shined on the court as he tries to earn his team a place in the Tokyo Olympics.
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Wiggins Leading Team Canada
Not long after the Warriors season ended with a pair of losses in the NBA’s new play-in tournament, Wiggins went to work in preparing to play for his country. He is one of several players for Team Canada currently on an NBA roster, and was their go-to player in a win over Greece in the Olympic qualifying tournament, where the winner gets a ticket to Tokyo. As Eric Koreen of The Athletic noted, Wiggins took advantage of a mismatch with Greek defender Nick Calathes to hit a pair of jumpers and extend the Canadian lead to nine points, eventually boosting them to the 97-91 win.
Wiggins finished the game with 23 points, six rebounds and two assists on 9-for-16 shooting and 3-for-6 from behind the three-point arc. After the game, Canadian head coach Nick Nurse said Wiggins’ experience in big moments will be pivotal for the team.
“Part of the learning experience is can we get the ball where it needs to go late,” Nurse said. “I know it didn’t look like much, but there was some pretty good organization there in getting those shots up and getting the spacing right and getting these two guys involved, you know, (RJ Barrett) and Wig. So pretty good, especially for a first game. But it’s definitely nice having two guys that can score like that.”
As Yahoo Sports noted, Wiggins also has experience representing Team Canada, having played in the 2015 FIBA America’s tournament. After the win over Greece, Wiggins said it was good to be playing for his country again.
“It feels good, playing for, representing, and showing up for the country,” Wiggins said. “Most importantly, winning for the country.”
Wiggins on Trade Block
While his immediate focus may be on the Olympic qualifying tournament, Wiggins could be preparing for a big move sometime later this summer. His name has been included in a number of trade rumors, with some insiders believing that the Warriors will including him in a package of players and draft picks to land a star player who could help them jump back into title contention.
The Athletic’s John Hollinger reported that the Warriors want to package together the No. 7 pick and young center James Wiseman in a deal, and could be looking to land Toronto Raptors big man Pascal Siakam in return. Other insiders have speculated that any deal with the Raptors would likely include Wiggins, sending Toronto a hometown player and helping to match salaries.
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