After Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins was considered by many to be Golden State’s second-best player during their
2022 championship run. Many people think that if Wiggins hadn’t played lockdown defense on Celtics star Jayson
Tatum, limiting him to a poor 37 percent from the field across six games, the Warriors would not have defeated
Boston in the NBA Finals. Later that year, Wiggins was rewarded by the Warriors front office with a four-year, $109
million contract. Considering the Ontario native’s value to the team on both ends of the ball, many thought this was a
good deal at the time.
In less than 15 months, Wiggins’ long-term future in Golden State is beginning to be questioned. NBA insiders Brian
Windhorst and Shams Charania claim that the Warriors are willing to move Wiggins before the trade deadline of
February 8. Stephen Jackson, who was obviously angered by the news on “All the Smoke,” shook his head and then
went on a rant about Golden State’s choice to keep Wiggins.
Jackson declared, “They f—ed up when they gave Wiggins that money.” “He had a strong postseason, but before
that, you were doubting him. You played him even though he had a few strong playoff rounds.” Jackson said that
rather than paying Wiggins in 2022, the Warriors might have kept cap money available to pay Klay Thompson, an
unrestricted free agent this summer.
There are rumors that Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob may cut the expenditures in his front office, even if the team
could still offer Thompson a big contract and increase their luxury tax liability.
“You guys need that money for Klay right now,” Jackson continued. “You guys owe Klay that cash. That money that
you all gave Wiggins was a bad idea. Based on just two postseason rounds, did you guys think you would get three or
four years out of the guy? That was completely incorrect.
