With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, Golden State Warriors' forward Andrew Wiggins continues to garner interest from rival teams around the league.
Wiggins missed Monday's win over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Monday due to an ankle injury, but has otherwise found some form over the last fortnight following a disastrous start to the season.
The Milwaukee Bucks' hopes of adding Golden State Warriors' forward Andrew Wiggins is nothing but a pipe dream for the 2021 NBA champions
Despite a suggestion that the Warriors would need to add a draft pick just to get off from the remaining three years of his contract, there appears to be enough interest in Wiggins for them to get something of value.
Whether there's enough value for Golden State to move the 2022 All-Star is another question. Along with the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers, Yahoo Sports' Jake Fisher also linked the Milwaukee Bucks to a move for the Canadian on Monday.
"Milwaukee has limited options of outgoing packages, with the No. 35 pick, Pat Connaughton and Cam Payne as the Bucks’ most likely outgoing scenario, sources said, and Bobby Portis would need to be included for Milwaukee to chase a bigger salary player like Dejounte Murray, Bruce Brown or Andrew Wiggins, sources said."
The 2021 NBA champions could certainly do with a more stable defensive presence on the perimeter, with the front office sacrificing that for more offensive firepower when they acquired Damian Lillard for Jrue Holiday during the offseason.
The Bucks have fallen from fourth to 19th in defensive rating as a result, something Wiggins could help rectify as a primary point-of-attack defender. He would then become the fourth, perhaps even fifth option offensively, and would likely prove a nice complement for Lillard, Giannis Antetekounmpo and Khris Middleton should he rediscover his three-point stroke.
But would Golden State be interested in a package of Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton and Cameron Payne? They shouldn't be. Portis is a valuable backup big capable of adding a scoring punch, but the Warriors already have a similar offensive-minded type in Dario Saric. The other two would do little but add rotation questions that Steve Kerr doesn't need, not to mention the face the Warriors would need to waive a player to bring three players in.
Perhaps the franchise would make this type of move if they were simply wishing to get out of Wiggins' contract. Yet even this doesn't give them too much relief, with Portis and Connaughton each contracted for a further two seasons. A Wiggins-to-Milwaukee trade is a pipe dream for the Bucks, unless the Warriors accept a return that would signify that they've essentially given up on this season.