If the Warriors decide to make a trade, Andrew Wiggins appears to be the player most likely to pack his bags. But his rating is at its lowest with a failed first part of the season averaging 12 points and a four-year, $109 million contract that has just started. The 2022 NBA champion even lost his place in the starting five in December. This had never happened to him in his career!
Since the start of the season, Andrew Wiggins has been silent. Impossible to know his state of mind or his impressions. Perhaps he knows that Mike Dunleavy Jr. is putting his name forward for a possible trade.
“Without Andrew Wiggins, this franchise would not have won the title in 2022,” Klay Thompson defends him. “We must continue to remember how Wiggins is a great player. He's one of the best two-way players in the NBA, and I know he still has that ability. »
An inconclusive return as a starter
For three matches, Andrew Wiggins has been back in the Warriors' five. The result: one victory for two defeats. The last one was humiliating in Memphis. But Steve Kerr assures that there is better, and he explained this after the victory in Chicago.
“I can tell you that watching the video, and observing him in Chicago, observing him over the previous months, he has changed a lot from the start of the season,” believes the Golden State coach. “He wasn't on pace to start the year well after missing a lot of last year. I think he started slowly and it snowballed, but over the last month or so he's been playing a lot better. He had a few games where he struggled shooting, but he is competitive. Personally, I think Wiggs is playing a lot better.”
An ideal scapegoat for Steve Kerr
A way of responding to the numerous criticisms which fall on his winger. He knows he's an ideal target for Warriors fans, who booed the players last week. And as Andrew Wiggins does not speak, Steve Kerr insists.
“I know his progress isn't showing that much and I know our fans are frustrated. We are all frustrated,” continues Steve Kerr. “We lose games, and when you lose, everyone tries to find someone to blame. Maybe it's the coach, maybe it's one of the players, maybe it's anything. The reality is that there are always a lot of things at stake. When you lose, when you're in a bad situation, it's never just one thing, it's always a combination of things. And I think we all have to admit that.”