Prior to the NBA Deadline, the Warriors All-Star is most likely to trade chips.

The NBA’s trade deadline on February 8 should soon bring about a significant shift that the Golden State Warriors are sorely missing.

On Tuesday, January 30, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst released a list of each team’s most potential trade candidates. It was surprising to hear that Windhorst named Andrew Wiggins as the most likely Warrior to play over the next nine days rather than veteran point guard Chris Paul, who is hurt, has a contract that is about to expire, and has only been with the team for a short season.

The Warriors, who have an expensive and unproductive roster, are in a difficult situation. Shopping Chris Paul’s $30 million contract makes sense.

, which might expire, but it’s difficult to imagine adding future compensation to the Warriors’ books,” Windhorst noted. “Wiggins’ value is low, and he is in the second season of a four-year, $109 million contract. Now is not the right moment to strike a deal.

The reason Wiggins’ worth is low is that he has played the worst since joining Golden State during the first part of the 2023–24 season.
According to Basketball Reference, the former No. 1 overall choice and pivotal player in the Warriors’ championship run just two seasons ago is scoring at a career-low rate of 12.5 points per game in 40 games this 2023–24 season.

For the first time since joining the Warriors in 2019–20, Wiggins is shooting under 45% from the field, making only 31.3% of his three-point attempts go in. From 6.1 far throws per game in the previous season to just 3.2 this year, he has nearly cut his deep attempt total in half.

The Dubs forward’s season numbers for assists (1.6 per game this season versus 2.3 career) and rebounds (4.2 per game this season against 4.5 career) are similarly lower than their career averages.

Because of Wiggins’ performance, Golden State might possibly need to offer a lottery selection or a young player as collateral to get a different team to take on Wiggins’ deal. However, given that the Warriors are now 20-24 and two spots out of the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference, making such a move may still make sense for a team facing a big tax burden.