The Warriors are a team in flux, and while the February 8 trade deadline is a month away, each day feels like a heightened referendum on who should stay and who goes.
Perhaps the trickiest part is figuring out who the team could actually trade, and whether they should try and get off some unsightly contracts, looking to next offseason to invigorate the roster.
Listen to Slater's full interview above. He begins on Draymond before addressing Wiggins at the 8:15 mark
Anthony Slater of The Athletic joined the Morning Roast and, in particular, discussed Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins looks like a shell of himself and is putting him career-worst number in points (11.9 points), assists (1.3), steals (0.3), blocks (0.4) and 3-point percentage (29.7 percent).
He's in the first year of a four-year, $109 million deal, and had back-to-back games against Toronto and Detroit with 3 points and 2 rebounds. In his past 18 games, he has been inactive four times and scored more than 14 points twice.
So, what should the Warriors do, if they can do anything?
Slater said that he believes Wiggins is the most likely player on the Warriors to be traded, and despite his downturn, his contract could still be viewed favorably. He points out that was "one of the more team-friendly deals in the league" at the time it was signed and named two teams that could be in play for a Wiggins trade.
"Guy's coming off a huge part of a title, is signed to a team-friendly, like $25-ish million a year with the cap going way up. And he's a 3-and-D, like plug-and-play wing anywhere you put him," Slater said. "Now, obviously that has not been the case this year.
"But it's still like if you still view Andrew Wiggins if you're the Indiana Pacers, if you're the Cleveland Cavaliers — particularly the Cavs, teams that needs starting small forwards. It's what they really lack. If you think he could get back to himself, he's a really good option there and at a really reasonable price. So I do think there's maybe teams that would view that as a tradable, at least trade for contract. But we'll see."
Slater continued to say that the Warriors' real decision is between Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga. Steve Kerr said Tuesday that he was disinclined to use them on the court simultaneously, which means there's a decision to make between them.
"I think it's pretty obvious the one that that they should probably choose at this point, right? Kuminga," Slater said. "He's cheap the next couple of years. He's playing better right now. And if you get off the Wiggins money that can basically turn into Kuminga money two years down the road as you try to reset your books. You look at the age, you look at the trend of where their careers are going, I mean, does that not seem like the obvious choice?"
Slater expounded on that a bit more, and discussed whether or not he believes Draymond Green can avoid interacting with referees and "antics" for a full season. He said it's a situation of Green's "career being on the line" if another incident happens. Listen to the full interview above.