The Golden State Warriors missed out on adding six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan in the offseason, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Anthony Slater.
The Warriors were one of the teams DeRozan explored joining before ultimately choosing their Pacific Division rivals Sacramento Kings.
“DeRozan, who league sources say explored scenarios with the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Warriors in search of a market value deal, had grown more fond of the Sacramento idea as time went on,” Amick and Slater wrote on October 18.
At the time, the Warriors had already added three veterans to their fold — De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson and they were pursuing Utah Jazz’s All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen.
DeRozan would have given the Warriors a reliable 20-plus point scorer next to Stephen Curry. A Curry-DeRozan backcourt pairing would also have given the Warriors two of the best clutch players in the league.
DeRozan ended up signing a three-year, $73.9 million deal with the Kings in a three-team sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors’ Pacific Division rivals only gave up Chris Duarte, two second-round picks to the Bulls and Harrison Barnes, plus a 2031 pick swap to the Spurs.
It is unclear if the Warriors and the Bulls talked. But it is not far-fetched to think Andrew Wiggins would have been involved if the Warriors explored adding DeRozan.
The only knock on the 35-year-old DeRozan’s game when it comes to his hypothetical fit with the Warriors is he is not a solid volume 3-point shooter. But DeRozan is one of the elite players from the midrange, a shot that has been discouraged into today’s game but also a great weapon to have in the playoffs when defenses are tighter.
Andrew Wiggins Expected to Become Warriors’ No. 2 Scorer
After missing out on DeRozan and their other star trade targets, the Warriors are banking on Wiggins to have a redemption season and emerge as the team’s No. 2 scorer behind superstar Stephen Curry.
“I’m expecting a big year from [Wiggins] and I think there’s also a void that is left by Klay’s absence that we need to fill,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Wiggins on September 26 during the Warriors’ Media Day. “That’s a lot of points to score, but it also means we have to rethink how we’re doing things, and [Wiggins] will be featured for sure. He’s a guy who’s proven he’s a 20-point-a-night guy, and we’re going to be relying on him heavily.”
Wiggins was rusty in his return after missing the Warriors’ training camp and first four preseason games with illness. The former No. 1 pick scored 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting in their 111-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on October 15. He added one assist and one steal without a rebound in 21 minutes of action.
Steve Kerr Challenges Andrew Wiggins to Improve His 3-Point Shooting
For Wiggins to become the Warriors’ second-best player like he was during their title run in 2022, Kerr challenged Wiggins to let it fly from the outside.
“To me, I’ve already told him: six 3-pointers a game,” Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke. “He is a really good 3-point shooter. It was down a little bit last year, but since he’s been here, 39, 40 percent. I want a lot of 3s and I want a lot of attacks to the rim. He shot 80-plus percent from the foul line in the second half of the year last year.
“He looks really comfortable in every aspect of the game. And let’s face it, with Klay [Thompson] gone, we need him to step up and be our second scorer after Steph, and we know he’s perfectly capable of that.”
Wiggins is off to a rough start in that category as he missed all his three 3-point attempts in his first game back.
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