Andrew Wiggins and his Golden State Warriors blew out the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers by the score of 127-104 Wednesday night.
This win has Golden State within one game of the Play-In Tournament out west, leading to questions about whether the team will be buyers or sellers ahead of the Thursday NBA trade deadline.
What we do know is that Wiggins has been the subject of trade rumors after a sluggish first half of the season. He has turned it around recently, putting up his best performance of the campaign Wednesday night. The former No. 1 pick scored 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting while adding 10 rebounds in the win.
Does this recent uptick in play from Wiggins mean the Warriors will hang on to the three-and-D wing? Perhaps, it will increase his trade value.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, Wiggins is actually drawing significant interest on the trade block with mere hours to go before the deadline.
Related: Updated NBA trade rumors, including Andrew Wiggins
NBA title contenders interested in Andrew Wiggins trade
Fischer specifically mentions the Milwaukee Bucks back east and Dallas Mavericks out west as two teams that are the most interested in adding Wiggins to the mix.
Milwaukee is an interesting potential destination given the team’s recent struggles and the sprained ankle Khris Middleton suffered Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns. The Bucks have lost four of five since Doc Rivers replaced Adrian Griffin on the bench.
A potential trade of Wiggins to Milwaukee is complicated by the fact that the Bucks would have to part ways with Bobby Portis. Fischer noted that the Bucks will think “long and hard before sacrificing Portis in any deal.” Meanwhile, Portis is seen as a favorite of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
- Andrew Wiggins stats (2023-24): 12.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 44% shooting, 31% 3-point
As you can see, Wiggins is in the midst of a down season. Over the course of his first three years with the Warriors, Wiggins averaged 17.7 points and 4.7 rebounds on 39% shooting from distance. He’s also one of the best perimeter defenders from the wing position in the NBA.
As for the Mavericks, they could entice Golden State with a package surrounding Grant Williams and other pieces.