Warriors reportedly may be open to trading Andrew Wiggins

Things are not going all that well for the once-mighty Golden State Warriors. Age and injury issues (and Draymond Green‘s suspension) have been catching up.

It’s led to an average season to what looks to be a suddenly average team. The latest example came Thursday in a home loss to a Miami Heat team without Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry.

If the Warriors’ window hasn’t already slammed shut, it’s undoubtedly closing. So it’s hard to envision them going on as currently constructed.

That very well could make small forward Andrew Wiggins a trade candidate, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

Wiggins was vital in the Warriors’ last run to the championship in 2022. He’s been good since then, but hardly great. Also, as Kawakami noted, Wiggins has not played well when teamed with fellow forward Jonathan Kuminga.

“Grand ripple effect No. 1: If they can’t play together, the Warriors will almost certainly have to choose Wiggins or Kuminga for the long term,” Kawakami wrote. “With Kuminga coming up on his rookie-extension negotiations, the Warriors probably have to make this decision very soon.”

And what if the Warriors decided Kuminga is the best man for the job moving forward?

“Though I’ve said in the past that the Warriors might be reluctant to trade Wiggins so soon after he signed a relatively bargain-rate contract extension specifically so he could remain with this team, I’ve since heard that this would not be a major barrier for the Warriors to explore Wiggins’ trade market,” Kawakami wrote. “Especially if he can’t play with Kuminga and the Warriors decide that Kuminga is their full-time small forward.”

Bottom line: Golden State can’t go on as is and expect to do anything special. Knowing that, you can’t help but wonder what moves might be ahead.