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If the Golden State Warriors want to bring home yet another championship, they’ll need all hands on deck. That includes starting forward Andrew Wiggins, who’s been away from the team since mid-February, as he works through some personal matters.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnorowski reported Monday, that Wiggins is nearing a return to the team ahead of the playoffs.
“Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Andrew Wiggins is nearing a return to the team and is expected to be back early this week,” Woj reported in a tweet. “Wiggins has missed 21 games attending to a family matter. Huge boost for the defending champions and sixth seed in the West.”
ESPN Sources: Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Andrew Wiggins is nearing a return to the team and is expected to be back early this week. Wiggins has missed 21 games attending to a family matter. Huge boost for the defending champions and sixth seed in the West.
The news from Wojnorowski wasn’t completely unexpected. Less than a day prior, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater had reported that there’d been optimism coming from the Warriors that they’d see Wiggins back with the team very soon.
“For a couple of weeks, there have been varying levels of optimism within the franchise — coach Steve Kerr and Steph Curry have called it a “hope” — that Wiggins will reappear before the playoffs,” Slater wrote. “But as of Sunday, he still hasn’t reported back, missing his 48th day and 22nd consecutive game Sunday while dealing with a personal matter. There’s a reason Wiggins hasn’t been ruled out for the season. There remains a belief he might show up in the coming days. It isn’t blind ambition. There’s been some level of signaling. But the clock is ticking and nobody behind the scenes is guaranteeing anything. Wiggins has told them he has been working out privately recently, but an intake process and some amount of ramp-up will be needed if he does return.”
The Canadian wing played a key role in last season’s Warriors championship run. Wiggins averaged 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game throughout the spring, shooting 46.9% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Plus, he was consistently tasked with slowing down the opposing team’s top scorer just about every night. For example, he did an excellent job defending Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum during the NBA Finals.
Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins Seen Back in the Bay: Report
Even ahead of Slater’s report of the team’s optimism, there had been other rumblings about Wiggins to come out over the weekend.
That news was preceded by a report from Bleacher Report’s Jason Dumas, saying that the 28-year-old was back in town, after spending a few weeks away from the area.
“I’ve been told that Andrew Wiggins is back in the Bay Area. He had spent most of the recent weeks out of town,” Dumas reported in a tweet ahead of Golden State’s March 31 meeting with the San Antonio Spurs.
I’ve been told that Andrew Wiggins is back in the Bay Area. He had spent most of the recent weeks out of town.
After the report surfaced, the press caught up with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and asked if he’d heard anything along the same lines.
Kerr replied by telling the media that he hadn’t yet gotten an new information about a potential reunion with Wiggins, according to 95.7 The Game.
Steve Kerr says he doesn’t have an update on Andrew Wiggins’ situation.
Warriors’ Stephen Curry Shows Support for Andrew Wiggins
Wiggins’ star teammate, Stephen Curry recently showed him support. After the team’s March 27 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the 35-year-old explained that the Warriors hope to have Wiggins back, but aren’t expecting a return until the time is right.
“It’s the same as it’s always been,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “We’d love to have him and hope that that does happen because we want to be whole, and I’m sure he wants to be a part of this. But when he walks through the door is when it’ll be the right time for him. That’s kind of the expectation at this point, so nothing’s really changed from our standpoint.”
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Warriors Expected to Add All-Star Forward to Lineup Ahead of Playoff Run: Report