NBA Players Not Living Up to Big-Money Contracts | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
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Remaining contract: Four years, $109 million
When the Warriors gave Andrew Wiggins this extension in October 2022, it didn’t raise any eyebrows. If anything, it looked like a team-friendly pact.
After all, the 6’7″ swingman had just played a pivotal role as Stephen Curry’s sidekick in Golden State’s run to the title. Wiggins appeared like he graduated from the Warriors academy and would serve as their bridge between contending today and contending tomorrow, too.
However, he missed the final two months of the 2022-23 regular season for personal reasons and hasn’t quite been himself ever since. His stats have sagged significantly in this campaign to the point that February has probably been his best month and in it he’s averaged just 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 26.8 minutes.
Too often this season, Golden State either hasn’t felt his impact or noticed his presence for the wrong reasons. Among its rotation regulars, he’s bringing up the rear in net rating differential at an unsettling minus-9.4 points per 100 possessions. By estimated plus/minus, he’s been a bottom-half-of-the-league player on both ends and just a 35th percentile contributor overall.
When Golden State tried shopping him ahead of the deadline, it heard crickets in response. Wiggins has time, of course, to find his footing, and maybe this contract goes back to being a positive value if he does. But until that happens, the production doesn’t come close to matching the pay rate.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on X, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
