NBA Rumors: League Exec Warns Warriors About Trading Andrew Wiggins & 2020 1st-Round Pick For Fourth Superstar
The Golden State Warriors may be expected to suffer a huge disappointment in the 2019-20 NBA season, but they probably won’t be staying at the bottom of the league for long. When the season is over, the Warriors are planning to make moves that would enable them to immediately return to title contention next year. Aside from making sure that their core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green will be in perfect shape, there’s a growing belief around the league that the Warriors will search for their fourth superstar in the 2020 NBA offseason.
Though they currently don’t have enough salary cap space to chase big names in the 2020 NBA free agency, the Warriors have a plethora of trade assets to engage in a blockbuster deal this summer. Using Andrew Wiggins’ massive contract and their own 2020 first-round pick, the Warriors would be in a strong position to add another superstar to their roster via trade. However, according to the Western Conference executive who spoke to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, the Warriors should think twice before trading Wiggins and their own 2020 first-round pick for an established superstar, since they could suffer the same fate as the Boston Celtics.
“The idea of combining Wiggins with their first-round pick to land a more proven player did not get much traction with the surveyed executives. Dealing the pick and Wiggins, the Western Conference executive said, would potentially put the Warriors in the same position as the Boston Celtics when they hung on to their trio of 30-something stars—Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen—until Allen left as a free agent and the Celtics devolved into a 41-40 team. (They played only 81 games because their April 16 game was canceled as a result of the Boston Marathon bombing.)”
If they trade Wiggins and their 2020 first-round pick for the wrong guy, the Warriors might really end up being in the same position as the Celtics. However, the Warriors are highly unlikely to move their precious trade assets just for the sake of adding anybody who’s considered an All-Star. If ever the Warriors engage in a blockbuster deal, it would surely be for a player they believe could complement and maximize the championship window of Curry, Thompson, and Green.
If their top trade targets won’t be available this summer, there is a strong possibility for the Warriors to start the 2020-21 NBA season with Wiggins on their roster. Though he’s still far from being a legitimate NBA superstar, Wiggins has already shown huge potential and somewhat managed to address the Warriors’ major problem in the wing. If he shows massive improvement with his game and builds good chemistry with Curry, Thompson, and Green, the Warriors may no longer see the need to trade for a fourth superstar before the next year’s trade deadline.
