NBA Rumors: Warriors Could Trade Andrew Wiggins & 2020 First-Rounder In Offseason Deal, Per ‘Bleacher Report’
With a league-worst 15-50 record at the time the NBA suspended operations last month due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Golden State Warriors have a good chance of getting a top-four selection in the upcoming draft lottery. While rumors have previously suggested that the Warriors might choose to trade that pick, a new report hints that the team could also consider shipping off one of their highest-paid players at the moment — forward/guard Andrew Wiggins.
On Tuesday, Bleacher Report wrote that the Warriors — despite having a roster where Wiggins, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are all paid more than $20 million a year — are likely “cooking something up” as far as their offseason plans are concerned. While Curry, Thompson, and Green were linchpins of Golden State’s three NBA championship teams in the 2010s, recent acquisition Wiggins was described as a “poor fit” for the team, much like D’Angelo Russell, who was sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the February deal that brought the former No. 1 overall draft pick to the Bay Area.
“Wiggins is widely considered one of the most overpaid players in the league, and it seems bizarre that a team as forward-thinking as the Warriors would either not know that or ignore it,” the outlet added.
Andrew Wiggins' debut with the Warriors
24 PTS
8-12 FG
3-4 3PT
5 STL (season-high)
3 AST
2 REB
1 BLK pic.twitter.com/84L04M4KDZ— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 9, 2020
Based on their current win-loss record, the Warriors reportedly have a 52 percent chance of picking in the top four in this year’s draft. That, plus their recent transaction history, would be the main reason it would be “logical” to trade Wiggins, with the first-round selection serving as a “sweetener,” Bleacher Report speculated. Also pointed out was the belief that Golden State doesn’t have much interest in a number of leading draft prospects, including Memphis Tigers center James Wiseman and highly touted guard LaMelo Ball of Australia’s Illawarra Hawks, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
Despite stressing the likelihood of Wiggins heading elsewhere in the 2020 offseason, the new report did not mention any specific trade targets whom the Warriors could pursue.
“[T]he Warriors are the Warriors for a reason. The move that seems unfathomable to us seems obvious to them.”
As previously discussed by The Inquisitr, Bleacher Report separately proposed a similar scenario in February, naming potential acquisitions such as center Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), forward Aaron Gordon (Orlando Magic), and guards Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards) and Jrue Holiday (New Orleans Pelicans). At that time, however, the outlet suggested including not just one but multiple future first-round draftees to sweeten any possible blockbuster deal involving Wiggins.
