The Golden State Warriors have found a gem of a player on their roster with Andrew Wiggins. The Warriors traded for him towards the end of the 2019-20 season with many question marks around him. His contract was considered too big for a player who had hit his ceiling. The Minnesota Timberwolves were forced to give up a pick that became Jonathan Kuminga and Wiggins to get back D’Angelo Russell.
The Warriors’ salary bill is already quite astronomic, the highest in league history. There have been recent grumblings about media and league executives being unhappy with the Warriors’ wage bill, and Wiggins may be the first domino to fall.
The contract Minnesota traded Wiggins on ends at the end of next season, making Wiggins’s extension eligible from this season onwards. But with their rising wage bill and luxury tax penalties, San Francisco Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau believes if the Warriors are to cut salary, trading Wiggins is their best option.
It’s ‘highly unlikely’ the Warriors bring back all of their rotation players next season, per @Con_Chron
“As I've written before, the most logical way for the Warriors to cut salary is to trade Wiggins before he hits unrestricted free agency in summer 2023.” pic.twitter.com/n5H7X8Ltke
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 20, 2022
Wiggins has started playing up to his contract value, so his trade value will be extremely high this summer. But after his performances in the Finals, it would be a non-competitive move on the Warriors’ part to trade him before his contract is up.
For a trade to go through, the Warriors will have to take a similar salary amount back through other contracts, unless they trade Wiggins to a team with cap space. In addition, extensions for Jordan Poole and their rising young core also loom on the horizon.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are contracted on big deals to the end of the 2023-24 season, while Steph is secure till 2026. Something has got to give for these Warriors, otherwise, teams around the league will create a massive stink over it. Something has got to give and there are many contracts that can be traded, but it looks like Wiggins might be the most obvious one considering the club legend status of Thompson and Green.
