Andrew Wiggins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Updates: Harden, Wiggins, Poole, Grizzlies, Jazz

December 5th, 2022 at 4:04pm CST by Rory Maher

James Harden is on track to return tonight for the Sixers as they face the Rockets in Houston, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The star guard has been sidelined for a month with a right foot strain, missing 14 games in the process.

“As much as I love basketball, I want to be out there to compete, especially for my teammates,” Harden said. “So this month has been patience, putting the work in, making sure I’m ready to come back and help this team get to where we can get to.”

Head coach Doc Rivers indicated on Sunday that Harden would be on a minutes restriction.

“Hopeful, he’ll be ready for [Monday],” Rivers said. “And if he is, he’ll be in a limited role. But it’s still better to have him than not, if we can have him.”

After winning four of five, the Sixers have dropped two straight games and currently hold a 12-11 record.

Here are some more injury-related updates from around the NBA:

Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins will miss Monday’s contest against the Pacers with right adductor tightness, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Golden State guard Jordan Poole is questionable with an ankle injury, which he suffered on Saturday.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant is doubtful for tonight’s game vs. Miami due to left ankle soreness, Memphis announced (via Twitter). In addition to Morant, injury-replacement starter John Konchar (right toe soreness) and rookie forward Jake LaRavia (left foot soreness) are also doubtful, while All-Defensive big man Jaren Jackson Jr. has been ruled out on the second of a back-to-back for injury management (he had offseason foot surgery and just returned a few weeks ago). On a positive note, second-year wing Ziaire Williams, who has yet to play this season due to right patellar tendinitis, is listed as doubtful instead of out for the first time and was sent to the G League to practice ahead of Monday’s game (Twitter link). Head coach Taylor Jenkins recently said Williams was nearing a return.
Jazz veterans Mike Conley (knee) and Rudy Gay (hand) were full participants in Monday’s practice and both hope to play on Wednesday against Golden State, though they’re still experiencing some pain (All Twitter links via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune). If Conley returns Wednesday, he’ll likely be on a minutes restriction, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. The Jazz have missed Conley’s steadying influence, going just 2-6 over the past two weeks without their starting point guard.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Westbrook, M. Brown, Wall

November 4th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors‘ road trip, which began last Saturday in Charlotte, has been a disaster so far. Golden State has dropped consecutive road games to the Hornets, Pistons, Heat, and Magic and is now just 3-6 on the season. Recognizing that something needs to be done to jump-start the defending champions, head coach Steve Kerr said after Thursday’s loss in Orlando that rotation changes are likely coming, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.

“We’ve had nine games now, so we’ve had a decent look at combinations. It’s time to try something different,” Kerr said. “Everybody’s gonna get a chance to play. We’ve got guys who are dying to get on the floor, and we’ve got to find combinations that play. We will look at that as a staff.”

As Andrews points out, the Warriors’ starters haven’t been a problem so far this season — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney have outscored opponents by 60 points during their time on the floor, the best point differential of any five-man group in the NBA. However, things have generally gone downhill when the starters begin to check out of the game.

Kerr and the Warriors will get an opportunity to try to figure things out without their stars available on Friday. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter links) relays, the team is resting Curry (right elbow soreness), Thompson (Achilles injury management), Wiggins (left foot soreness), and Green (lower back injury management) on the second night of a back-to-back.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Bringing Russell Westbrook off the bench has “undeniably unlocked” the best version of the former MVP, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who argues that the move could even change the course of the Lakers’ season. As Buha tweets, coach Darvin Ham said after Wednesday’s win that one of his goals is to get Westbrook into the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year, which signals that he doesn’t plan to move the point guard back into the starting five anytime soon.
Clippers two-way center Moses Brown had his best game of the season in Wednesday’s win in Houston, racking up 13 points and seven rebounds in just 12 minutes. However, an increased role for Brown may not be a long-term solution to the second unit’s struggles, since head coach Tyronn Lue wants to get more production out of the team’s small, center-less lineups, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.
Although John Wall is considered one of the Clippers‘ veteran leaders, his situation is different than it was in Houston, when he was a mentor to a very young roster, says Law Murray of The Athletic. “We have so many veteran guys here, so I don’t think they need no mentoring,” Wall said, adding that he’s still willing to help out young players like Brown, Brandon Boston Jr., and Moussa Diabate if they have questions for him.

Pacific Notes: Fox, Crowder, Booker, Klay, Wiggins

October 26th, 2022 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on The Draymond Green Show, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox recounted his reaction to the news that Sacramento had traded Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana at last season’s deadline, explaining that he viewed the deal as a strong message from his team.

“For me, it’s like yo, they believe in me,” Fox said, per Ajayi Browne of Slam Online. “But two, it’s like motherf—-r, we just traded somebody who could be a franchise point guard either here or somewhere else. So, you better get on your s–t; you better start winning.”

The Kings received plenty of outside criticism for their decision to trade a rising star like Haliburton in his second NBA season, but Fox is determined to prove that the Kings made the right move by handing him the undisputed reins at point guard.

“Does it add pressure? Yeah, a little bit,” Fox said. “But, at the end of the day, I’ve been trying to get us in the playoffs for years, so it’s a little added pressure. It ain’t hurt anybody.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter video link), Suns forward Jae Crowder pushed back against the idea that he demanded a trade because he was told he wouldn’t be a starter. “I do not want to get into the details just yet,” Crowder said, as Haynes relayed during a TNT appearance. “But it’s definitely not true, the narrative being pushed about me not starting or not, I can honestly say that.”
Asked about his impressions of Devin Booker so far this season, head coach Monty Williams described the Suns‘ star guard as “probably the most complete player in the league right now” (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). Booker has averaged 32.5 PPG on .530/.480/.882 shooting through four games (38.8 MPG).
Williams’ comments on Booker came after a Suns victory over the Warriors in which sharpshooter Klay Thompson was ejected for the first time in his NBA career. Kendra Andrews of ESPN has the story on the chippy game between two Pacific rivals, Thompson’s first ejection, and Booker’s account of what Klay was saying to him before he left the floor: “They have four rings, repeated over and over.”
In a conversation with Mark Medina of NBA.com, Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins explained that he took a pay cut on his new four-year, $109MM extension with Golden State because he didn’t want to leave a “winning organization” that treats him well. Wiggins’ goal is to eventually join teammates like Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry as “Bay Area legends,” he told Medina: “Hopefully by the time I’m done, people will look at me like that. I just have to keep putting in the work and accomplish what they have accomplished.”

Warriors Notes: Wiggins, Williams, Green, Brown, Kerr, Wiseman

October 24th, 2022 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Andrew Wiggins, who signed a four-year, $109MM extension before the season, is playing like a star in the early going. He’s averaging 22.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks through the first three games. Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes Wiggins is playing at the top of his game, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area.

“This is the best I’ve ever seen Wiggs,” Kerr said. “He was an All-Star last year, he helped us win a championship and I think he’s used that momentum that he gained a year ago to kind of springboard into this season.”

We have more on the Warriors:

Suns coach Monty Williams was “quietly upset” that JaMychal Green joined the Warriors on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “Why did he go there?” Williams said.
The Warriors topped the Kings 130-125 on Sunday in a coaching matchup featuring Kerr and his former top assistant, Mike Brown. Kerr is thrilled that Brown got another head coaching job, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. “He’d always talk about how much he loved this job,” Kerr said. “That’s always what we’d lean on if he didn’t get an interview somewhere. Like, ‘You’ve got a pretty good gig. I’ve got it good. You’ve got it good. We’ll just keep it going.’ But we both felt like he was too talented and too young not to get another chance.”
In a subscriber-only story, Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated speaks to James Wiseman about his comeback from a knee injury that kept him out of action last season. Wiseman is averaging 11 points and six rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game.

Warriors Notes: Green, Thompson, Wiggins, Rotation

October 20th, 2022 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are being eased into the season but that will change in the near future, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Thompson had 18 points in 20 minutes and Green added four points, five rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes against the Lakers in the opener. The minutes restrictions on them will be lifted in a couple of weeks, according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

We have more on the Warriors:

Thompson heard of a report that he planned to retire after two more seasons. He shot that down, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. “There’s a report out there – I have no intention of retiring in 2024. If you write some dumb (stuff) like that, be held accountable,” he said. “That’s crazy. Just because I didn’t play 5-on-5 doesn’t mean I’m gonna retire. That is absurd.” Thompson, whose current contract expires in 2024, was addressing comments made by Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle during a radio interview on KNBR.
Andrew Wiggins has a feeling of contentment after signing a four-year extension, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes. “I feel like here — you know, some people will say like, ‘We’re all just one big family.’ But they don’t really say that here. They just show it,” he said. “You know what I mean? They just show it. Families love to be here because they treat everyone so good, like a top-notch organization. And these guys, everyone wants to win, we’re all on the same page, from top to bottom. We all want to see each other succeed. It gives me peace.”
The Warriors showed their depth with an 11-man rotation in the season opener. It won’t be easy to fit all those players into the rotation throughout the season, Slater notes, but Stephen Curry believes each player can continue to contribute until the postseason. “You have 11 guys that probably deserve the opportunity to play and are going to be key for us to be the team that we want to be throughout the regular season and then identify what the best rotation is come playoff time,” he said.

Warriors Notes: Looney, Myers, Starters, Green

October 17th, 2022 at 11:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors starting center Kevon Looney, who signed a three-year contract worth up to $25.5MM to remain in Golden State this summer, hopes to remain with the only NBA team he has ever known for the duration of his career, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

“This is the team I got drafted to,” Looney said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s podcast Dubs Talk last month. “I love living out here. I know the system, I know the players, I know the guys. It’s home for me. This is where I wanted to be. “I’ve had a lot of great vets over the years, and they always told me to stay here as long as possible. The culture like this, it isn’t like that everywhere else. All of that was in the back of my head going into free agency.”

Poole notes that Looney was finally promoted to a starting role with the Warriors during the team’s 2021/22 championship season after spending his first six years in the league as a backup big man. Looney enjoyed one of his best regular seasons last year, appearing in all 82 games for the first time in his career, while averaging 6.0 PPG on 57.1% shooting from the floor, along with 7.3 RPG, and 2.0 APG across 21.1 MPG.

There’s more out of Golden State:

Warriors team president Bob Myers is fully aware that the cost of the team’s roster next season projects to be at least $483MM in player salaries and luxury tax payments, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I cannot evaluate what we are going to do next season until we see what happens this season,” Myers said with regard to his team’s future roster-building in a Sunday press conference. “I just know this: There’s a huge commitment to winning. There always has been, and I believe there always will be. I am lucky to be in an [ownership] group that believes that. Their actions prove it.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr suggested on Monday that he will have something of a minutes cap for starters Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney on opening night. As Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area relays (via Twitter), Kerr thinks those players are not quite yet ready to play 30-plus minutes to begin the 2022/23 season. “It’s fine,” Kerr said, adding that the team will rely on its depth this week. “You just adapt and adjust.”
Warriors power forward Draymond Green, who has not been signed to an extension despite the team dishing out lucrative long-term deals for his teammates Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins, is a good bet to pick up his $27.6MM player option for the 2023/24 season, posits Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter video link). Wojnarowski initially said Green will “almost assuredly” exercise that option before clarifying that it’s “probably the most likely scenario” based on his projected market.

Warriors Notes: Poole, Wiggins, Green, Thompson

October 16th, 2022 at 9:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Saturday’s extension with Jordan Poole was the “first domino” in the Warriors‘ financial future and it may lead to the end of Draymond Green‘s time with the organization, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. Poole will receive $123MM in guaranteed money over four years in what Kawakami believes is the team’s most important personnel move since signing Kevin Durant six years ago. The Warriors defined their future even more later in the day with a four-year extension for Andrew Wiggins.

Those deals will lead to a gigantic luxury tax bill and may limit the team’s options with Green, who is also extension-eligible. Kawakami notes that Warriors are currently looking at $190MM in salary and about the same number in tax penalties, which results in a $380MM commitment. Owner Joe Lacob and others in the organization have said they’re not willing to take on an even higher tax burden, and sources tell Kawakami that moving payroll into the $500MM range would result in an annual loss of about $100MM.

Poole is entering the final year of his rookie contract and will make $3.9MM this season before jumping to nearly $28MM in 2023/24. Wiggins’ new deal will reduce his salary by $9.3MM at the same time, so Golden State needs to trim some salary elsewhere to keep its tax around the same level. Green is an obvious target, whether or not he exercises his $27.6MM player option for next season. Kawakami believes it’s likely that Green will pick up that option and his representatives will cooperate with the Warriors to work out a trade.

There’s more on the Warriors:

Kawakami doesn’t expect the team to consider trading Klay Thompson, even though he’s owed a combined $83.8MM over the next two years. Kawakami states that Thompson is more valuable to the Warriors than he would be to another team and notes that he has been playing small forward more often, which allows more backcourt minutes for Poole and Stephen Curry.
The Warriors are currently projected to have a $219MM total salary for 2023/24 with a tax bill of $303MM, according to salary cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link). ESPN’s Bobby Marks offers a video breakdown of what Saturday’s extensions will mean for the team’s future.
After spending a few days away from the team for punching Poole in practice, Green returned Thursday and promised to try to rebuild chemistry with his teammates, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “It’s about making sure our team camaraderie is right,” Green said. “You can tell when you’re playing against a team and they have good camaraderie … if not, they can be broken easy … if you have that, you can build through anything. [Our camaraderie doesn’t] get very shaken.”

Warriors Sign Andrew Wiggins To Four-Year Extension

October 15th, 2022 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have signed former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins to a contract extension, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log.

After Wiggins’ surprise extension showed up in the transaction log, his agents Drew Morris and Steven Heumann of CAA Sports confirmed the deal, telling ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Kendra Andrews (Twitter link) that it’s a four-year, $109MM extension.

The deal includes a player option on year four, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

Wiggins, 27, enjoyed perhaps the best year of his career in 2021/22 with the Warriors. Although he fell short of the scoring averages he posted in earlier seasons with the Timberwolves, he earned his first All-Star nod and emerged as a reliable two-way player, making a career-high 39.3% of his three-pointers and handling challenging defensive assignments on the wing.

Wiggins averaged 17.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 73 games (31.9 MPG) during the regular season, then played a crucial role in the Warriors’ title run, putting up 16.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .469/.333/.646 shooting in 22 playoff contests (34.9 MPG).

Having signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension while he was still in Minnesota, Wiggins will earn $33,616,770 this season in the final year of that deal, then take a pay cut on his new extension, which will be worth just over $27MM per year. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), Wiggins’ salary will dip to about $24.3MM in the first year of his next contract, which begins in 2023/24.

Wiggins’ agreement comes on the heels of Jordan Poole striking a four-year, $123MM+ deal with the Warriors earlier today. Golden State has now made nine-figure commitments to two of its key extension-eligible rotation players in less than 24 hours, further increasing the franchise’s record-setting payroll in the coming years.

With Wiggins and Poole locked up, the future of Draymond Green looms as a major question mark for the Warriors. Although it’s still possible that he’ll remain in Golden State for years to come, Green probably can’t realistically expect to receive a long-term contract that has an average annual value matching or exceeding his $27.6MM option for 2023/24.

If Green picks up that option, the cost of the Warriors’ ’23/24 roster – taking into account both player salaries and luxury tax penalties – is projected to exceed $500MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Warriors Rumors: Poole, Green, Klay, Wiggins, Moody, More

October 14th, 2022 at 7:42am CST by Luke Adams

If the Warriors want to sign Jordan Poole to a rookie scale extension before the October 17 deadline, it will likely require a baseline offer of $120MM over four years, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who said during an appearance on the HoopsHype podcast that Tyler Herro‘s deal with Miami raised the bar for Golden State and Poole.

Slater, who believes the two sides will get something done in the coming days, suggests that the incident with Draymond Green last week might’ve create some additional urgency on the Warriors’ side, since they won’t want Poole’s contract situation hanging over his head all year after what happened with Green.

Slater also observes that there are some teams who project to have cap room next year that could realistically offer Poole a maximum-salary offer sheet. In Slater’s view, the Magic and Spurs are among the rebuilding teams who could use a backcourt scorer like Poole and would have the financial flexibility to make life difficult for the Warriors if the 23-year-old makes it to restricted free agency.

Here’s more out of Golden State:

The Warriors appear to be in “wait-and-see” mode on potential extensions for Green and Klay Thompson, says Slater. There’s no real urgency on the Thompson front because he’s under contract for two more guaranteed seasons. Green can become a free agent next summer, but the Warriors will likely want to see how this season plays out to get a sense of how he regains the team’s trust, what his market will be like, and whether he’ll be able to top his $27.6MM player option.
Andrew Wiggins is also extension-eligible, and Slater believes the Warriors would be interested in exploring a new deal if the former No. 1 pick is willing to take a slight pay cut (perhaps from his current $33.6MM into the 20s). But it’s unclear whether Wiggins would consider that as he comes off his best NBA season.
Slater believes Moses Moody is a better bet than Jonathan Kuminga or Patrick Baldwin Jr. to step into a rotation role immediately this season, since he’s a good fit for a three-and-D spot. While the Warriors like Baldwin’s long-term potential, Slater expects him to spend a lot of time in the G League as a rookie.
The Warriors allowed their veterans to take on a major role in the handling of the Green/Poole altercation last week, according to Slater, who points to Stephen Curry, Kevon Looney, and Andre Iguodala as players who were very involved. “The players are of the belief that it’s better for the team to bring Draymond back in now,” Slater said.

Draymond Green Not Expecting To Sign Extension Before Season

September 26th, 2022 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

Warriors forward/center Draymond Green is one of several key Golden State players currently eligible to sign a contract extension. However, when asked on Sunday about his contract situation, he told reporters that he’s not counting on signing a new deal before the 2022/23 season begins.

“Whether I’d like to or not, I don’t think it will happen,” Green said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (video link). “So for me, I’m just focused on this season and being as great as I can be, as I know I’m capable of being, and winning another championship. And reaching the individual goals that I have as well. I think that’s my main focus.”

Green is technically under contract for two more seasons, but the second year is a player option, so he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2023. He’ll earn approximately $25.8MM this season, with a $27.6MM option for ’23/24.

If he were to sign a long-term extension that begins in 2023, replacing his player option, Green would be eligible to earn up to $138.7MM over four years. A report in July suggested that the 32-year-old believes he’s earned that sort of contract, but it would be a surprise if the Warriors were to make that strong an offer this fall. With Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins also entering contract years, Golden State will do its best to try to lock up all three players to deals well below the max in order to avoid pushing the franchise’s record-setting luxury tax payments even higher.

Poole and Wiggins were also asked about possible extensions on Sunday — both players indicated they’re letting their agents handle those negotiations and brushed off concerns about the possible pressure of a contract year, as Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes.

Poole, who expressed confidence that he and the Warriors will be able to figure something out, will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign a rookie scale extension this fall. Wiggins will become an unrestricted free agent after the season if he doesn’t sign a veteran extension.