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Throughout the season and into the offseason, when the Golden State Warriors surfaced in trade rumors, there was one player whose name consistently popped up — Andrew Wiggins. Now, an insider explains why the versatile forward may be very difficult to move, potentially playing into Golden State’s decision to hold off on any big moves.
Prior to the NBA draft, there had been consistent rumors that the Warriors could package some combination of the No. 7 and No. 14 picks along with young center James Wiseman for a deal to land a star player. Wiggins was frequently mentioned — often as a throw-in to ensure that salaries match — but a new analysis shows that the Warriors may not be able to move him after all.
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Wiggins Lands on ‘No Trade’ List
Using an analysis based on NBA contract analytics outfit ProFitX, Yossi Gozlan of Hoops Hype compiled a list of the league’s “most difficult to trade” contracts. The Warriors starting wing made the list, though Gozlan noted that his trade value has risen due to his strong overall play in the last season.
Still, a contract where Wiggins’ salary does not match his production makes it difficult for the Warriors to include him in a trade, Gozlan added.
“Andrew Wiggins has come a long way down this list thanks to his solid contributions to the Warriors,” he wrote. “Despite his improvements, he is still overpaid by a good margin, according to ProFitX. While there could be teams interested in his services, his contract makes him a neutral value at best. Wiggins is Golden State’s logical salary filler in a potential consolidation trade.”
Wiggins was a valuable contributor last season, often the second scoring option behind Steph Curry as he averaged 18.6 points per game. The Canadian winger projects to remain in the starting lineup next season.
Wiggins was not the only member of the Warriors to make the list of difficult contracts. Fellow winger Klay Thompson, who is owed $121.8 million through the 2023-24 season, was named as well, largely due to his injury concerns. Thompson has missed each of the last two seasons to a pair of major injuries, a torn ACL suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals and an Achilles tear suffered just before the start of last season. It would be exceedingly unlikely that the Warriors would look to trade Thompson, especially after the team’s front office has expressed hope that his return will bring the team back into title contention.
Warriors Avoid Big Trades
Whether Wiggins’ contract played into the decisions or not, the Warriors ended up avoiding all of the big trades they were rumored to be considering and used their draft picks to select Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.
There were reports that the Warriors were trying to shop around the lottery picks, but Dubs general manager Bob Myers ultimately decided that the value was higher in using them.
“But having two swings at it in what we think is a really, really good draft is important for many reasons,” he said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “Probably at least hopefully you get one guy that can help you, maybe both that can help you, at least by the time the playoffs come around you hope that’s possible in some capacity. Helping you doesn’t necessarily mean they are starting. That might mean maybe they give you 15, 20 minutes, maybe more, maybe less.”
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