The Golden State Warriors have already made several moves of note this offseason and more could be on the way.
That could mean more notable signings like Lauri Markkanen are ultimately coming, but it may also mean a move focused solely on addition by subtraction in the form of Andrew Wiggins. The one-time All-Star (2021-22) was critical to the Dubs as they captured their fourth NBA title of the Stephen Curry era just two years ago, but his play has fallen off considerably since.
Golden State has already moved off one salary in Jordan Poole they didn’t believe would be sustainable over the life of that contract and parted ways with Klay Thompson, who has proven himself still capable of functioning as is a winning player for a contender, rather than overpay him.
Evan Giddings of 95.7 The Game on Saturday, July 6, suggested the Wiggins is the third name on the Warriors’ more than one-year-long to-do list when it comes to shedding onerous money in order to build the best roster possible.
“Andrew Wiggins has hurt the Warriors over the last two seasons more than he’s helped them as a basketball player,” Giddings said. “And so that’s why I think we’ve come to the point now this offseason where they’re doing everything they can to detach themselves from him. And the Olympics just happens to be the center point of it because it might be an obstacle to getting off of him if he hurts himself, and I just don’t think they want to take that chance.”
Warriors Have Been Trying to Trade Andrew Wiggins for Months
Getty Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State has been trying to move on from Wiggins since at least last season’s trade deadline, which came and went in February 2024.
“That is the big chip they have to play,” an NBA executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports in May. “They looked at trading him in (February) at the deadline, but there was not anything there for them — nothing serious. But it is a foregone conclusion they’re going to look to do it again. They will have to put in young pieces, but he’s their only real path to retooling that roster.”
It hasn’t proved necessarily true that the Dubs couldn’t add meaningful pieces without dealing Wiggins, as a historic six-team sign-and-trade deal centered around Thompson helped Golden State secure both Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers, respectively.
The Warriors have also already made a substantial offer to the Utah Jazz in an attempt to acquire Markkanen. The team has centered that deal around its two unencumbered first-round draft picks in 2025 and 2027 and presumably at least one or two talented young players, perhaps Jonathan Kuminga and another like Moses Moody.
Unclear if Warriors Attempting to Include Andrew Wiggins in Trade Offer for Lauri Markkanen
GettyLauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
The precise details of the offer made on July 5 are not public beyond the fact that it is pick-centric, and so it is unclear whether Wiggins’ salary is part of it. Golden State may need to include his $109 million contract, which still has three years and more than $84.5 million remaining on it, in order to make the money on a deal work.
That said, it is not clear if paying a player like Wiggins that kind of salary over that duration of time fits in with the rebuilding plan in Utah, though it could as that franchise positions itself for high picks in each of the next two NBA draft classes that are reputed to be loaded with talent.
Regardless of whether he can help secure them any kind of return, let alone a current and future All-Star building block like Markkanen, the Warriors remain poised to get off of Wiggins’ contract by any means necessary. Several league insiders noted that the organization was prepared to include a draft asset in any Wiggins-centric deal ahead of the 2023-24 trade deadline simply to entice another team to take on the contract of the former No. 1 overall pick.
Andrew Wiggins’ Play Has Fallen Off Significantly Since Warriors’ Title Run in 2022
GettyAndrew Wiggins (left) of the Golden State Warriors and former teammate Jordan Poole.
Wiggins’ decline in play that has made Golden State so desperate to get him out of the locker room and off of the books has been something of a surprise development after his defense and rebounding helped the Dubs reach the Finals in 2022 and knock off the Boston Celtics for the title.
But Wiggins has spent a significant amount of time away from the team for personal reasons, which were partly responsible in the forward missing 45 regular season games during the 2022-23 campaign. He played in a respectable 71 contests last year, though at a career-low clip of 27 minutes per night due to poor on-court performance.
Wiggins, 29, averaged a career-low 13.2 points last season along with 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He also shot 35.8% from behind the 3-point line, by far his worst make since his first full season in Golden State in 2020-21. He did so on just 3.6 attempts from behind the arc per game, which was his lowest total since his third year in the league back in 2016-17.
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