Golden State Warriors All-Star Andrew Wiggins had his struggles in the 2023-24 season, averaging the fewest points in his career. His tough season has put him in trade proposals during the early stages of the season. In a proposed trade from Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, the Warriors send Wiggins to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The full proposal by Hughes would send Wiggins and a 2026 second-round pick (via ATL) to the 76ers. The Warriors would receive a heavily protected 2027 second-round pick in return.
“Let’s imagine no free agent worth the Philadelphia 76ers’ trove of cap space makes it onto the market, forcing Daryl Morey to consider other talent-onboarding methods,” Hughes wrote in an April 27 column exploring trade ideas for every team that missed the playoffs. “And let’s also imagine that after a Play-In elimination, Warriors ownership isn’t keen on paying a hefty luxury tax penalty.
“Andrew Wiggins’ $26.2 million salary could slide right into Philly’s cap sheet while still leaving as much as $40 million in unspent resources, replacing free agent Tobias Harris at a discount and possibly even providing elite defense if Wiggins can channel his 2022 self.”
Andrew Wiggins Contract ‘A Net Negative’
Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, would help the Golden State Warriors facilitate any big trade this offseason due to having $90 million left on his deal. However, ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote on April 17 that other teams “could view his contract as a net negative.” season,” Lowe wrote in a column wondering if the Warriors storybook was coming to an end. “His salary would help with any big deal, but rivals could see his contract as net negative – and ask the Warriors to seize an asset as compensation,” sources said. often”.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob said on “The TK Show” with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami that he wants a tax exemption
“Our Plan 1 , or . 1A, is that we don’t want to pay any more taxes and we believe we have a way to achieve this, not just under the second apron. I’ll tell you why this is important, because the truth is we need a tax break two out of the next four years to get this repeat business off our books. We don’t want a repeat,” Lacob said in February.
Trading Wiggins this offseason could greatly help the Warriors achieve Lacob’s goal.
Cheaper and younger options >The Golden State Warriors have cheaper and younger options on the roster, including 21-year-old Jonathan Kuminga in the 2023-24 season, the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft 2021 took a big step forward, nearly doubling his scoring average and averaging 16.1 points per game in 2023-24, a significant increase from his 9.9 average. that in the 2022-23 season.
His contract is an even bigger factor in this scenario as he is only expected to make $7.6 million in 2024-25.
As a cheaper and younger option, if Lacob wants to avoid taxes, Kuminga can help him.