Andrew Wiggins could legitimately cost Warriors playoff spot

It’s not crazy to think that missing last season’s second-best scorer for half of the year could cause the Golden State Warriors to miss the playoffs.

They’re playing with fire when it comes to Andrew Wiggins‘ vaccination status, and if the issue can’t get resolved with the only positive outcome being he gets the jab, the team may face major consequences.

The Golden State Warriors haven’t been able to woo Andrew Wiggins to get vaccinated, potentially putting their playoff hopes at risk.

Wiggins doesn’t have to be vaccinated because of league standards, but the San Francisco mandate on indoor events. His religious exemption was declined, so it appears, for now, unless something changes, he’ll be absent from home games.

With the season inching closer and training camp kicking off soon, this dilemma will continue to be problematic for Golden State. The season is set to open in late October with the Warriors’ first game on October 19.

Thankfully, that game is on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the very next game, they’ll take on the other LA team, the Clippers, at the Chase Center. That game, along with the home preseason games, Wiggins would be unavailable for.

Wiggins played a major role for this team last season, one that, if missed, could be the difference at least 5-10 hard-fought home games.

The Dubs easily made the play-in tournament, but with teams like Minnesota improving, it could be far more difficult if they don’t have that cushion. Also, a late-season historic push from Stephen Curry helped.

Without Wiggins, the Warriors would be losing around 19 points per game. It was his defense and efficiency that took a step up last season, shooting a career-high from both the field and from downtown, 47.7 percent and 38 percent respectively.

Golden State had ten single-digit home wins last season. Without that type of play from a top-three offensive option and a player that took a huge step after years of scrutiny, the Warriors could realistically have dropped 4-5 of them.

That’s not even to mention the odd team dynamic that would go into having a player only active for road games along with the other health and safety protocols that would have to be strictly followed.

While that doesn’t mean a buyout or anything extreme will happen, but as with Ben Simmons’ trade dilemma, it could certainly hurt any trade value, especially as we near the season.

Wiggins has been a prime candidate given his contract size, and the Warriors, who need to capitalize on the prime years that Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green have left, may have no option other than to trade Wiggins.

After all, if they do reach the playoffs, not having a top-three scoring option just isn’t going to fly, especially one that’s set to make over $15 million even without half of his contract.