Golden State Warriors All-Star Andrew Wiggins had his struggles in the 2023-24 season, averaging the fewest points in his career. His tough season has put him in trade proposals during the early stages of the season. In a proposed trade from Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, the Warriors send Wiggins to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The full proposal by Hughes would send Wiggins and a 2026 second-round pick (via ATL) to the 76ers. The Warriors would receive a heavily protected 2027 second-round pick in return.
“Let’s imagine no free agent worth the Philadelphia 76ers’ trove of cap space makes it onto the market, forcing Daryl Morey to consider other talent-onboarding methods,” Hughes wrote in an April 27 column exploring trade ideas for every team that missed the playoffs. “And let’s also imagine that after a Play-In elimination, Warriors ownership isn’t keen on paying a hefty luxury tax penalty.
“Andrew Wiggins’ $26.2 million salary could slide right into Philly’s cap sheet while still leaving as much as $40 million in unspent resources, replacing free agent Tobias Harris at a discount and possibly even providing elite defense if Wiggins can channel his 2022 self.”
Andrew Wiggins Contract ‘A Net Negative’
Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, would help the Golden State Warriors facilitate any big trade this offseason due to having $90 million left on his deal. However, Zach Lowe of ESPN wrote on April 17 that other teams “might view his contract as a net negative.”
“Wiggins has three years and almost $90 million left on his deal, and just completed a mostly disappointing season,” Lowe wrote in a column wondering if the Warriors storybook is ending. “His salary would be handy in any major trade, but rivals might view his contract as a net negative — and ask the Warriors to attach an asset to compensate, sources said. Golden State is not quite deep enough in trade assets to be able to afford that.”
Warriors owner Joe Lacob said on “The TK Show” with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami that he’d like to get out of the tax.
“Our Plan 1, or 1A, is that we’d like to be out of the tax, and we think that we have a way to do that. That kind of is the plan, not just under the second apron. I’ll tell you why that’s important because the truth is, we need to be out of the tax two years out of the next four in order to get this repeater thing off our books. We don’t want to be a repeater,” Lacob said in February.
By trading Wiggins this offseason, it could go a long way toward helping the Warriors reach Lacob’s goal.
Cheaper and Younger Options
The Golden State Warriors have cheaper and younger options on the roster, including 21-year-old Jonathan Kuminga. During the 2023-24 season, the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA draft took a big leap, almost doubling his point average. Kuminga averaged 16.1 points per game in 2023-24, a major increase from his 9.9 average in the 2022-23 season.
His contract is an even bigger factor in this scenario as he’s set to make just $7.6 million in 2024-25.
Being a cheaper and younger option, if Lacob wants to get under the tax, Kuminga could help with that.
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