During the 2022 championship run, Andrew Wiggins was widely acknowledged as the second-best player for the Golden State Warriors, trailing only Stephen Curry. His pivotal role in their victory against Boston in the NBA Finals was emphasized, particularly for his exceptional defense against Jayson Tatum, limiting him to a below-average 37 percent shooting over six games. Subsequently, the Warriors’ front office deemed Wiggins instrumental and rewarded him with a four-year, $109 million contract, widely considered a bargain given his significant contributions on both ends of the court.
“They f—ed up when they gave Wiggins that money,” Jackson said. “Y’all got a good postseason out of him, but y’all were questioning him before that. He played a couple of good rounds in the playoffs, but you still played him.”
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In under 15 months, uncertainty looms over Andrew Wiggins’ future with the Golden State Warriors. NBA insiders Brian Windhorst and Shams Charania suggest that the team is considering trading Wiggins before the Feb. 8 deadline. Reacting to this development on “All the Smoke,” Stephen Jackson, visibly upset, shook his head and went on a tirade expressing dissatisfaction with Golden State’s choice to extend Wiggins.
“Right now, y’all need that money for Klay,” Jackson added. “Y’all owe Klay that money. Y’all should have never given Wiggins that money. Y’all thought you were gonna get three or four years out of him based on two rounds of the playoffs? That was wrong — dead wrong.”
Jackson argued that the Warriors had the option to conserve cap space for Klay Thompson, an unrestricted free agent this summer, instead of committing to Wiggins in 2022. Despite the possibility of affording Thompson a substantial contract and incurring a higher luxury tax bill, there are speculations about Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob considering a halt to his front office’s extravagant expenditures.
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