With a 118-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors have fallen to 22-23 and sit at the 11th seed in the Western Conference yet again.
Yet one player reminded the team again how vital he is to the flow of their offense, with Andrew Wiggins quietly having his best season since the Warriors title run in 2022.
Andrew Wiggins has played himself out of trade discussions
On Saturday, his 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists represented the best stat line on the team, keeping the Warriors in the game until another disappointing fourth-quarter performance for the home team.
This third quarter buzzer-beater was Wiggins' best moment of the night:
Wiggs beats the third-quarter buzzer 🚨 pic.twitter.com/a0NW6M7Mrq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2025
Wiggins is averaging 17.1 points on the season, the second-most on the team behind Stephen Curry. Throughout this recent stretch, while the Warriors have floundered between excellence and mediocrity, Wiggins has been surprisingly consistent as a scorer.
Therefore, although Wiggins might be one of the team's most enticing trade piece, he by all means should be held out of all trade discussions if the Warriors want to have a chance at the playoffs this year.
In the absence of Jonathan Kuminga, Wiggins has been the only player truly capable of driving to the rim and drawing contact on a routine basis. This ability, although it would be made easier by the presence of a floor-spacing center, keeps the Warriors offense away from awkward movement on the perimeter.
The Warriors' abundance of shooters, including one-dimensional players such as Buddy Hield, often prevents their offense from moving with the necessary freedom and danger needed to beat high-scoring teams such as the Lakers.
This issue is compounded by the fact that the Warriors have shot poorly from the three-point line as a whole this season. As a team, the Warriors are shooting just 36.6% on the season, good for 12th in the NBA. Considering the team has Curry, the greatest shooters of all time, this number is both uncharacteristic and highly concerning for this Golden State team.
While Wiggins struggles at times to finish his drives, the mere potential of him bruising his way to the rim forces defenses to adjust, giving space to the Warriors shooters. Further, Wiggins has been their second-most consistent offensive performer behind Steph Curry, scoring in single digits only twice in the past month.
Therefore, as the Warriors look to add a piece that can help this team thrust themselves out of mediocrity, Wiggins should be held out of all trade discussions. His importance to this offense is too great, even if it goes unnoticed at times.