Throughout the entire season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been searching for the ideal lineup combinations.
Injuries that have interfered with Head Coach Darvin Ham’s preseason plans to use depth as a strength have contributed to some of that. However, they would be better served by attempting to bolster some of their apparent weak points with some more reliable firepower.
The star of the Golden State Warriors, Andrew Wiggins, might be a choice.
On December 28, Tim Kawakami of The Athletic wrote, “I’ve said in the past that the Warriors might be reluctant to trade Wiggins so soon after he signed a relatively bargain-rate contract extension specifically so he could remain with this team.” Since then, I’ve learned that the Warriors wouldn’t find this to be a significant obstacle to investigating Wiggins’ trade.
If Golden State decides that third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga must stay in the starting lineup, Kawakami points out that Wiggins’ ability to play alongside Kuminga is crucial.
If Wiggins continues to play as he is now, his 12.4 points per game on 50.3% true shooting would be the lowest and second-lowest of his career, respectively.
His campaign-long percentage of 29.9% from beyond the arc would also be a career low.
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During the first 21 games of the season, Wiggins shot 27.9% from beyond the arc while averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. Wiggins had a difficult time starting this season. But in his six off-the-bench games, he has averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.
This season, Kuminga has only made nine starts, two of which have been with Wiggins.
Cleaning the Glass reports that despite going winless in those games, the Warriors have a minus-3.9 net efficiency differential in 1,250 possessions when Wiggins is on the court without Kuminga. When they play together, that number falls to minus -18.5 (223 possessions)