Warriors doing the best they can to frustrate one of their highest-paid players
The Golden State Warriors have been looking to trade Andrew Wiggins for months, with their inability to do so possibly costing the wing a chance to represent his home country in the Olympics.
According to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, "Andrew Wiggins [is] out of Canadian Olympic picture" with Golden State "playing hardball with [the] veteran they are looking to move."
Andrew Wiggins out of Canadian Olympic picture, according to a source. Golden State Warriors playing hardball with veteran they are looking to move. Canadian team opens camp later tonight
— Doug Smith: Raptors (@SmithRaps) June 28, 2024
John Hollinger of The Athletic provided his thoughts as well, saying that he's reading this as the Warriors blocking Wiggins due to a medical issue.
I'm reading this as the Warriors blocking him due to a medical issue, which they can do if there's a legit health reason (as opposed to "we don't feel like letting you play"). https://t.co/RBbuoFJTmI
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) June 28, 2024
The Warriors have been looking to part ways with Wiggins as the wing continues to underperform in the last two seasons. The wing struggled this season with averages of 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on 45.3 percent shooting from the floor. This is the second straight season in a row that Wiggins not looking like the two-way wing that helped the Warriors win the title only two seasons ago.
This poor two-way play has led the Warriors to offer Wiggins's basketball services around the league with him having three more years left on a 4-year, $109 million contract extension. Golden State has wasted a lot of time getting the veteran sent elsewhere. After wasting everyone's time with Wiggins' trade rumors, the franchise doesn't seem to mind they are frustrating one of their higher-paid players.
Warriors doing the best they can to frustrate one of their highest paid players
While Anthony Slater of The Athletic phrased this decision as a "mutual decision", it's more likely that Wiggins is just playing along with it to make sure he has some say in where he ends up getting traded. The wing might not completely control where he goes, but he will likely get a more favorable destination becomes of this.
Wiggins may be okay with missing out on the Olympics to find a place he can be happy in. Still, it's not great Golden State is angering a veteran represented by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Like the other top agencies, CAA represents a good chunk of the league and will likely keep this in mind with other clients. One Warriors free-agent target is CAA's Paul George.
While it's unknown if this will affect their relationship with other veterans, it's easy to assume that Golden State is taking way too much time with a possible Wiggins' trade.
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