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Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins for Kristaps Porzingis — who says no?

By Peter O'Keefe

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors runs against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors runs against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

In this article, Tony Pesta claimed that the Golden State Warriors should have ‘zero interest’ in Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis, adding that “if it comes down to giving up Andrew Wiggins for KP, I’m taking Wiggins every single day of the week”.

If you had put up both players in a straight player-for-player trade at the beginning of the season, the majority of NBA fans would have laughed at you. Porzingis, despite his injury troubles, was still seen as the ultra-talented big man, a rare combination of skills on a 7-foot-3 frame bringing him the nickname ‘the unicorn’.

The Golden State Warriors could trade Andrew Wiggins, and we’ll dive into whether or not Kristaps Porzingis should even be considered an option.

Wiggins, on the other hand, was still a severely overpaid, inconsistent, and inefficient player who lacked the ability to contribute to a good team.

Fast-forward to the end of the 2020/21 season and we are actually having a genuine debate on who holds more value. Wiggins has impressed Warriors fans with a newfound work ethic and previously unknown ability on defense, whilst also shooting a career-high 38 percent from three-point range.

While Porzingis was reasonable during the regular season when he played (he missed half of the 72 games), his value seemed to spiral dramatically in a playoff series that can only be described as nothing short of ordinary.

He averaged just 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in over 33 minutes of action, all whilst being a defensive liability over the course of a series the Mavericks lost in seven games.

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