Warriors Shouldn't Move Andrew Wiggins at Deadline amid Latest NBA Rumors
Thursday's NBA trade deadline is fast approaching, and the Golden State Warriors are nowhere near the championship race.
Some might argue that's reason enough for this front office to make major changes, and the Dubs certainly have options on that front. Andrew Wiggins, perhaps the biggest disappointment in a season with plenty of them, hasn't totally tanked his trade value and "remains a player in consideration for the Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks," per Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.
The fact that others are holding out hope for Wiggins should be a sign to Golden State, though. There isn't a deadline deal the Dubs can make involving Wiggins that would help them more than simply getting the two-way swingman back on track.
His Trade Value Might Be at Its Lowest
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The best version of Wiggins is a game-changer. The Warriors have already seen that firsthand.
When they won the title in 2022, he meant as much to that run as anyone not named Stephen Curry. Wiggins was relentless on defense, all over the glass and consistently providing rock-solid support scoring.
Obviously, he hasn't looked like that player in quite some time, but the names connected to Wiggins' trade talks have never elevated to that degree. Per Fischer, Bobby Portis would have to be a primary piece of a Bucks package for Wiggins. How much is a backup big man helping this team? For Dallas, meanwhile, Grant Williams and Tim Hardaway Jr. are the biggest names thrown around. Williams has been a major disappointment this season, and Hardaway has rarely been more than a volume-scoring specialist.
If that's the best the Warriors can get back for Wiggins, then this clearly isn't the time to give him up.
Golden State Can't Lose His Defense or Athleticism
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The Warriors lack size in the frontcourt and athleticism in the guard group.
If being small and slow sounds like a recipe for a defensive disaster, that's because it is. The Warriors sit just 20th in defensive efficiency, per NBA.com.
That number won't improve by dealing Wiggins—one of their best athletes and defenders—for pennies on the dollar. It's hard to see how they'd flip him for an upgrade given their lack of possible sweeteners, especially since they've rightfully made Jonathan Kuminga off-limits, per Fischer.
While it's entirely possible Wiggins never reclaims his old form, the chance that he could remains the Warriors' best bet for turning things around. For all of their struggles this season, they've been all-caps INCREDIBLE when Wiggins has shared the floor with Kuminga, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, as the quartet has produced a plus-20.7 net rating over their shared 148 minutes, per NBA.com.
A Quiet Trade Deadline Is Best for the Dubs
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It isn't difficult to envision an active deadline for the Warriors. Not when there's such a massive disconnect between their expectations (and payroll) and their results.
What would they even hope to accomplish, though? And how, exactly, would they get it done?
They can't bottom out as long as Curry is around, and they're too far ahead of the cellar-dwellers anyway. They don't have highly sought-after trade targets—not among the players they'd actually move—so the reward for selling would be minimal. Shedding salaries at the expense of talent would be a strange way of spending Curry's twilight years.
And yet, buying players hardly seems a sensible strategy for a sub-.500 team that isn't even part of the current play-in tournament picture. They aren't trading their way into title contention this season, so they'd be sacrificing real assets to maybe make a first-round cameo? That's a bad way to do business.
What the Warriors need more than anything is their roster to live up to their expectations. Helping players like Wiggins find their normal rhythm would be far more beneficial than anything Golden State stands to get at the deadline.
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