Three Andrew Wiggins Trade Destinations

It feels like the Golden State Warriors are about to reach their breaking point. With their double overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend, the Dubs have lost six of their last eight games despite operating near or at full strength for them. It is, of course, impossible to draw definitive conclusions from this stretch given the tragedy the team suffered with the death of assistant coach Dejan Milojevic during a road trip in Utah last week. But the fact of the matter is that the Warriors currently sit at 12th in the Western Conference with just over a week until the trade deadline. If change is coming to the dynasty, it has to happen quickly.

Which should explain why Shams Charania went on Run It Back yesterday and reported Golden State is taking calls on pretty much everybody except Stephen Curry. Specifically, Charania said that they would be looking to move Andrew Wiggins and Chris Paul, as well as potentially Klay Thompson.

Of those three, Wiggins has the most value. In theory! He's 28 years-old with championship experience and two years left along with a player option on a fairly reasonable deal for a two-way wing. Guys like that are sought-after commodities in today's league. But Wiggins was terrible to open the season. Like, somebody stole his basketball skills Monstar-style terrible. In his first 25 games of the year he averaged 12 points per game on 42 percent shooting from the floor with an average plus-minus of -4. It got so bad that the former All-Star got benched in an effort to shake things up.

However, Wiggins' age and prior showings of quality play will still entice teams. The Warriors are definitely selling low on their forward if they do decide to put him on the block but, as explained above, they have no choice. His $24 million salary is extremely movable and someone out there will believe Wiggins is better than his season statline of 12.3 points per game, shooting 43 percent from the floor and 31 percent from deep.

Here are a few possible trade destinations for the former No. 1 overall pick.

Chicago Bulls

If the Warriors are moving Wiggins then they presumably are going to swing for the fences and Zach LaVine represents that concept well. The high-scoring guard has been trying to get out of Chicago for a few months and the Bulls seem interested in at least talking about moving him, given he is owed at least $40 million annually for the next three seasons. Wiggins would help Chicago accomplish their annual goal of being close enough to the Play-In Tournament to raise ticket prices every year without actually being in contention. LaVine would bring a huge, needed injection of non-Stephen Curry scoring.

Thompson is a cleaner fit for a trade money-wise, but the two sides could make a Wiggins trade work. Golden State could send Moses Moody and Gary Payton along with Wiggins to match the financials. The Bulls get a young guy and two servicable rotation players. The Warriors get scoring. Both sides could be happy with this one.

Brooklyn Nets

The Bulls trade above is exciting but not super realistic. You know what is realistic? Trading Wiggins for rotation players and calling it a day. Which is exactly what the Nets can offer. Brooklyn isn't going anywhere this year and should very much be in the market for reclamation projects like Wiggins. They've got a bunch of different contracts that could be easily used to match in a trade. Golden State would surely love to go star hunting with Wiggins' deal but their immediate concern is this season and there aren't many deals like the one above out there.

The Nets could trade Spencer Dinwiddie (who doesn't seem thrilled to be there) and Lonnie Walker IV for Wiggins straight-up. Walker has been pretty darn good as a sixth man for Brooklyn this season, averaging 11 points per game while shooting a scalding 44 percent from beyond the arc on nearly five attempts per game. Dinwiddie has been... bad (12.9 PPG on 39 percent from the floor) but a prime candidate for a change of scenery boost. If Wiggins is bad for the Nets then they gave up two expiring contracts to get him so no harm done. If he makes anything resembling a return to form, it's a great deal for both sides.

Detroit Pistons

Even now that they are no longer on pace to be the worst team in NBA history and are simply one of the worst teams in NBA history, the Pistons are desperate for competent play and are being led by a general manager who is 100 percent trying to save his job. That leaves the door open for an opportunity for a team like the Warriors to get a steal of a deal. The Pistons do not have a single two-way forward and Wiggins, despite his poor shooting from beyond the arc this season, does technically resemble that. Detroit also has a recent history of dealing with Golden State with the James Wiseman deal at the deadline last season. There's reason to believe these two sides will at the very least be talking as February 8 approaches.

What could the Dubs get out of this deal? If the Pistons are super duper desperate and not thinking about the long-term (which is the impression we've all gotten over the last decade) then the Warriors could squeeze them for Jaden Ivey (along with Joe Harris to make the money work) for Wiggins and Corey Joseph. Monty Williams, for whatever godforsaken reason, seems to dislike Ivey as a player so maybe they're trying to ship him out. If not, GSW could settle for Bojan Bogdanovic straight-up; his defense would only exacerabte their already-existing problems but adding a true 20 point-per-game scorer to the lineup can only help matters. There are multiple ways to get a deal done here.