Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Andrew Wiggins: ‘I expect him to be here when the trade deadline passes’

One week before the NBA trade deadline, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters that he doesn’t anticipate forward Andrew Wiggins going anywhere. 

“I think he’s playing well, and I’m very hopeful and I expect him to be here when the trade deadline passes,” Kerr said Thursday, via ClutchPoints’ Jack Winter. “I think he’s been a big part of our team now for years, helped us win a title a year and a half ago, still has a lot of career ahead of him. So I’m really hoping Wigs is here, and, as I said, I fully expect him to be here. 

“But I don’t know of any player [who] gets to go through his entire career and not see his name in a trade rumor. Steph [Curry] probably did early in his career. Right now, probably not, but this is part of the gig. And it’s not easy, especially on the families, when someone’s name is mentioned in trade chatter, but part of the deal.”

Earlier this week, this very website listed Wiggins among 25 of the most interesting players who might be moved before the Feb. 8 deadline. And the trade chatter is not new. Back on Dec. 28, The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami reported that the Warriors were willing to explore the trade market for Wiggins. On Jan. 8, Marc Stein reported that rival teams were under the impression that Golden State was increasingly open to trading him. On Jan. 29, The Athletic’s Shams Charania said that the front office would take calls on Wiggins (and Chris Paul). 

Wiggins is 28 years old and theoretically in his prime, but this season has been the worst of his career. Lately, however, he has started to turn things around. Starting in the frontcourt alongside Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green, Wiggins had 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting, five rebounds, three assists, a block and two steals in a double-overtime loss against the Los Angeles Lakers last Saturday, then followed that up with 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting, five rebounds, four assists, a block and three steals in a win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. 

“I feel like Andrew’s actually been coming the last few weeks,” Kerr said Wednesday during his weekly appearance on 95.7 The Game. “I think he’s looked better physically. I know it hasn’t always played out that way offensively where he’s looked like he did last night, but I just felt like his rhythm was coming, he’s had a better stretch and he looks, I think, as comfortable as he has all season now. I think the extra minutes have helped, I think the shift in our style a little bit — opening up the floor, playing smaller — gives him better driving lanes and allows him to do some of the things that he does well.”

Kerr said in that same interview that he likes the direction of the team and is excited to get Paul, Gary Payton II and Moses Moody back from injury. 

“We’re not going to find better players than those guys in a trade,” he said. “It’s exceedingly are to make a deal where you can upgrade your talent to that level.”

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Kerr also noted, though, that ultimately it will be up to the front office whether or not there are any moves. And when it comes to Wiggins, let’s be real: He said what a coach is supposed to say. Unless he’s totally certain that Wiggins is about to be traded, he might as well act as if it’s extremely unlikely. 

Regardless of what Kerr or anyone else says publicly, Golden State is in a strange spot as the deadline approaches. It’s 20-24 and outside the play-in, in a much worse position than it ever thought it would be, with limited resources at its disposal to improve the roster. One of those resources is Wiggins’ contract, given that it was seen as a bargain when he signed it and other teams might think he has a better chance of living up to it on a new team. But if he continues this recent upswing, are the Warriors simply better off keeping him?

This is an impossible question to answer without knowing exactly what Golden State can get in return for Wiggins. And even with that knowledge, it wouldn’t be an easy one.