The Warriors are coming off a disappointing season, and changes are on the horizon. Owner Joe Lacob hinted last February that Golden State would try to get under the luxury tax for the 2024-25 season. That was reinforced during General Manager Mike Dunleavy's comments to media after the team's season concluded.
"To put a team out there that can't make the playoffs, we spent $400 million this year. I wouldn't recommend that," Dunleavy said.
READ: Warriors upcoming free agents, spending flexibility, and pick situation
The Warriors were over $40 million past the luxury tax last season, and so they will have to cut a lot of salary. Making matters even more complicated is that Klay Thompson and Chris Paul are up for new deals, among others. One easy get out of jail free card to fix the team's finances would be to offload the three years and $84.7 million remaining on Andrew Wiggins' deal. Could that be a possibility?
According to The Ringer's Logan Murdock, the Warriors will look into that option. "League sources believe Andrew Wiggins will be included in trade talks this summer as the Warriors look to improve their roster," Murdock wrote.
Should the Warriors trade Wiggins, and what could they get for the former All-Star starter?
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Why the Warriors should and shouldn't trade Andrew Wiggins
The case for trading Wiggins is pretty clear. He was not very good and vastly overpaid for his production.
It was only two seasons ago Wiggins started the All-Star game and was the team's best defender in the playoffs. He's fallen off a cliff since then. All of his stats are way down, his defense has lapsed and he was bad enough to get pulled from the starting lineup at various points in the season.
Wiggins is also one of the team's only trade chips that could bring back a better player. They're going to need to match salary in most deals, and his $26.3 million might be necessary if the team made a big swing.
The case against trading Wiggins is that he has played poorly enough for his contract to be perceived as negative value. The Warriors would need to attach one of their young players or a pick to move him.
Would they even be good enough after such a trade to compete for a title? Does it make sense to deal more future assets for a mediocre team?
It's probably better to hold onto Wiggins, hope he can recover to his previous level, and maybe move him mid-season if that happens. He's still only 29 years old and should be in his prime years.
Andrew Wiggins trade destinations
If the Warriors did try and move Wiggins, there are two types of trades they would pursue. The first, and less likely route, is adding a good player to try and get them back to championship contention. The second is a straight cost-cutting measure, and that seems more likely.
Here are a couple of forms those deals might take.
Wiggins trades to improve Warriors
Dejounte Murray | Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have to break their core up. They looked terrible in their Play-In loss to the Bulls, and they didn't guard anyone this year. The combination of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray is not doing anything.
Murray makes $24.8 million next year, matching up with Wiggins' $26.3 million salary nicely and saving the Warriors some money in tax payments.
MORE: The Dejounte Murray trade that would fix the Hawks and Warriors
The Warriors have first round picks in 2025 and 2027 that they can move. The Hawks would ask for both of them, plus at least one of the team's young prospects.
Jarrett Allen | Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs have similar roster construction issues. The team has played better with one of Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley on the bench. Both are shaky shooters, and the spacing gets destroyed when they are on the floor together.
The Warriors might face similar problems with Allen and Draymond Green (although Green hit a career-high 39.5 percent from 3 this season). How much can you count on Green to be on the floor, though?
Allen is one of the best big man defenders in the league and a great lob target that would give the Warriors a look they've never had before. His $20 million salary matches nicely with Wiggins.
The Cavs would ask for a slightly smaller package than what the Hawks would want for Murray. Cleveland would want at least one pick and one or two of the Warriors' young prospects.
Warriors trades to shed salary
Realistically, trading everything the team has for guys like Murray or Allen aren't changing much. They'll be better, but not good enough to justify a $400 million price tag.
That's why trading Wiggins as a salary dump makes more sense. The Warriors would be reticent to attach a pick, but they could take bad salary back instead. Here are some formats.
Nikola Vucevic | Chicago Bulls
Vooch was still a double-double machine for the Bulls, averaging 18.0 points and 10.5 rebounds this season. But his efficiency was awful, and his defense is way below-average for a starting center.
He does fit nicely with the Warriors' style of play. He's a good passer and heady screener who will know how to work alongside Steph Curry.
The Bulls should be thrilled to get off the remaining $41.5 million owed to Vucevic over the next two years. The Warriors would shave over $6 million off their cap and get off Wiggins' deal a year early. Golden State would have to add another young player to get this deal done at the very least.
Chris Boucher | Toronto Raptors
Boucher will be on an expiring $10.8 million salary next season. There was some potential for him to become a nice stretch big, but he's been somewhat of a disappointment for Toronto and his shot hasn't really come around.
The Raptors don't need depth at the wing, but trading Wiggins would allow Masai Ujiri to continue his weird experiment of bringing back every Canadian-born player to Toronto. And it would help the Warriors get completely off Wiggins' deal.
The Raptors can open up cap space this summer to make this sort of uneven-salary trade, but they'd have to let Bruce Brown Jr. or Gary Trent Jr. walk in free agency. They don't seem to want to do that, so the Warriors would have to throw in a bunch to grease the wheels. It would take one of those Warriors first round picks to make the Wiggins homecoming a reality.
