BRAKING NEWS:Most of warriors star are likely to trade chip ahead of….
The NBA’s trade deadline on February 8 should soon bring about a significant shift that the Golden State Warriors are sorely missing.
On Tuesday, January 30, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst released a list of each team’s most potential trade candidates. It was surprising to hear that Windhorst named Andrew Wiggins as the most likely Warrior to play over the next nine days rather than veteran point guard Chris Paul, who is hurt, has a contract that is about to expire, and has only been with the team for a short season.
The Warriors, who have an expensive and unproductive roster, are in a difficult situation. Although it makes sense to shop Chris Paul’s $30 million contract, which may expire, it is difficult to imagine adding future salary to the Warriors’ books, Windhorst said. “Wiggins’ value is low, and he is in the second season of a four-year, $109 million contract. Making a transaction right now is not a good idea.
The reason Wiggins’ worth is low is that he has played the worst since joining Golden State during the first part of the 2023–24 season.
According to Basketball Reference, the former No. 1 overall choice and pivotal player in the Warriors’ championship run just two seasons ago is scoring at a career-low rate of 12.5 points per game in 40 games this 2023–24 season.
For the first time since joining the Warriors in 2019–20, Wiggins is shooting under 45% from the field, making only 31.3% of his three-point attempts go in. From 6.1 attempts per game last season to 3.2 deep heaves this year, his attempts from deep have dropped by nearly half.
The Dubs forward’s season numbers for assists (1.6 per game this season versus 2.3 career) and rebounds (4.2 per game this season against 4.5 career) are similarly lower than their career averages.
Because of Wiggins’ performance, Golden State might possibly need to offer a lottery selection or a young player as collateral to get a different team to take on Wiggins’ deal. However, given that the Warriors are now 20-24 and two spots out of the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference, making such a move may still make sense for a team facing a big tax burden.
