"They should trade Andrew Wiggins today" - Stephen A. Smith shares his thoughts on the unvaccinated Golden State Warriors forward
Andrew Wiggins was one of the key players in the Golden State Warriors franchise last season. His ability to contribute to the offense and lock people on defense made him one of the stalwarts in the team. However, both Wiggins and the Warriors face a big problem ahead of the 2021-22 season.
As per the new guidelines laid out by the state of San Francisco - the state where the Warriors are based. Released a new mandate, where it requires everyone in an indoor sports gathering to be fully vaccinated. The problem here is that Andrew Wiggins is not vaccinated and he is against the process, which makes things difficult for the Warriors.
If this stands true, it means Wiggins could miss 41 of the regular season games played at the Chase Center. With Klay just returning from a long injury layoff, this was the last thing they wanted from the offseason. Many experts came out in the open and shared their opinions on how they felt about Wiggins' situation. Speaking about the same in on the First Take, Stephen A Smith said:
"They should trade Andrew Wiggins today, period. You get rid of him, send him someplace else. This is not a hard situation for me. I understand he is averaging 18 points per game from last season, he's no scurb, he can play, even though he's a18 point scorer I've ever seen. That's just how I feel about him. I'm not saying he cannot play, I'm saying, he's not assertive when he needs to be."
The Warriors should trade Andrew Wiggins today. https://t.co/mJh7y4yfWK
Should the Golden State Warriors trade Andrew Wiggins?
The Golden State Warriors come into the season knowing that Klay Thompson will be back. However, the shooting guard will take some time to recover before he returns to full match fitness. With the state of San Francisco implementing a strict vaccine policy, it will be very difficult for the Warriors to accommodate Andrew Wiggins.
The Warriors have "increasing concern" about the availability of Andrew Wiggins due to local COVID-19 mandates, per @Rusty_SFChron
He has declined getting the vaccine and said he won't receive it unless he's forced to. https://t.co/XAMkXanGCp
The former will miss out on more than half of the season, as the Warriors have 41 of their games scheduled at the Chase Center. If the rule stands and Wiggins does miss more than 40 games of the season, it will be a huge loss for the Warriors. The decision to keep him or move him out of the franchise solely stands with the Warriors. They could use someone like Wiggins in a trade to avail the services of an all-star player like Ben Simmons. However, with that possibility being ruled out, it will be very interesting to see if the 26-year-old ends up with the Warriors or another franchise.