Getty Golden State Warriors star Andrew Wiggins handles the ball during a game against the Phoenix Suns.
Even as they’ve lost five of their last seven games, it’s hard to feel bad about where the Golden State Warriors stand with the NBA trade deadline looming. The team bears the unmistakable look of a title contender and, really, some growing pains were to be expected with Klay Thompson returning to the lineup.
“We tried to prepare for it, but it is an adjustment,” Curry confessed recently. “We have to make those adjustments and continue to get better, stay patient and get everybody comfortable with our new chemistry…”
In spite of the club’s success, there are some that would say more can be done to boost the Warriors’ title chances, perhaps even by swinging big deadline trade.
To that end, one hoops scribe just floated the possibility of using one of the team’s first-half MVPs as trade bait.
Could Andrew Wiggins Help Fetch Another Star?
In his latest piece for The Sporting News, Scott Rafferty broke down all the ins and outs for the trade deadline’s “most interesting” teams. And the Warriors were the first club to appear on his list.
Rafferty noted that Golden State “has what it takes to win it all this season” and indicated that no moves are necessary. However, he still wrote about the potential for a big move, adding that Andrew Wiggins could be the key to getting something done:
As important as he’s been to the team’s success, Andrew Wiggins, who is on the books for $31.6 million this season and $33.6 million next, would help match salary in a deal for another star. The Warriors could then sweeten it with some combination of Jonathan Kuminga, Jordan Poole and James Wiseman, three young players with an intriguing amount of upside, plus draft picks.
Whether or not Warriors brass would even consider dealing Wiggins is hard to say. Either way, though, Rafferty believes that the wing is probably staying put:
The safe bet might be on the Warriors standing pat at this season’s trade deadline — they’re among the favorites while still being built well for the future, after all — but the possibility of them going all-in to make the most of their title window is enough for them to land on this list.
In any case, his mention of Wiggins here is a curious one.
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Wiggins Has Played a Huge Part in the Warriors’ Success in ’21-22
Outside of Stephen Curry, one could argue that no single player is as responsible for what has happened in the Bay Area this season as Wiggins is. He may even end up starting the All-Star Game. So, the idea that Warriors GM Bob Myers would deal him is an odd one.
In 39 appearances this season, Wiggins has put up 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and just under one steal per contest. Although those numbers are right in line with his career marks, his effective field goal percentage of 56.8 represents his best-ever output.
That number is boosted by his 42.2% conversion rate from deep, which is the best number on the team.
If the Warriors were to make a move for another big name, the hope would be that the player in question can perform as well as Wiggins has as a second or third option offensively. But if the team already has that in place with Wiggins, there’s really no reason to part with the former No. 1 overall pick.
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NBA Trade Rumors: Warriors Star Could Be Dealt at Deadline, per Analyst