SAN FRANCISCO — On media day last week, both Steve Kerr and Mike Dunleavy Jr. outlined their high hopes for veteran wing Andrew Wiggins.
He’s highly motivated, they said. He came into camp in great shape. He’s primed to get back to his level of play from a couple years ago, when he was an All-Star. He’s still at his physical peak and will be featured.
“I think he’d be the first to admit he didn’t have his best season,” Dunleavy said. “Been in the gym all summer. Can just sense a little bit (of a) different vibe from him this time of year. His body looks great. He’s in good shape, ready to go.”
The optimism hasn’t faded, but Wiggins’ season hasn’t gotten off to the smoothest start. He missed all five days of training camp practice in Hawaii, watching along from the sidelines with a mask on and putting up some shots afterward as he was sick. He didn’t play in the team’s preseason opener against the Clippers and won’t play Wednesday night in Sacramento, either.
But Wiggins returned to practice Monday partially and was a full participant Tuesday. For the first time since media day, he spoke with reporters.
“It was great to hear,” Wiggins said of the Warriors brass’ praise. “I put in a lot of work this summer, so I’m glad to hear that, coming from Mike and Steve – two very important guys in the organization. Just motivates me to work even harder.”
The Warriors have big plans for Wiggins this year. Not only do they want him to guard the opposing team’s best wing player, they also want him to be more aggressive and efficient offensively, potentially slotting in as the team’s second option behind Steph Curry.
“Wiggs is a 20-point-a-night scorer in his career, pretty much,” Draymond Green said in Hawaii. “Asking him to be the second option, the second scorer, you’re not asking him to do anything differently than he’s been his entire career. He’s more than capable.”
Getting back on the court is a step toward that.
In the portion of Tuesday’s practice open to the media, Wiggins played 1-on-1 in a group with Kevon Looney, Kyle Anderson, Gary Payton II, and Moses Moody. Possessions started on the perimeter at first, then in the post. The battles were physical, with Looney and Payton having the most success.
Anderson hit a pull-up 3 over Wiggins’ contest at one point, and then Wiggins did the same to the new addition.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Wiggins said.
He’s still not 100% healthy, but he’s feeling a lot better than last week. Being in Hawaii with his wife and teammates but not being able to completely enjoy it was tough.
“Seeing all the guys compete and how fun training camp looked, just watching it from the sidelines – was obviously disappointing,” Wiggins said. “But I’m glad to be back here and with the team.”
Golden State has a lot on its plate this training camp. Kerr and Curry have talked openly about the need to evolve their system and introduce more structure into the offense. The team has installed new plays and new terminology.
Neither Wiggins nor Kerr is concerned about the small forward falling behind after missing a week.
“Still got some time before the regular season starts,” Wiggins said. “I’m back at practice now, going through everything. We’ve got a great coaching staff who are great teachers. Trying to learn, trying to figure stuff out. I was watching from the sidelines a lot in Hawaii, so it wasn’t like I was left behind or anything like that.
“Obviously, it’s easier when you’re in the drills and in the mix doing it rather than watching it from the sidelines, but I had a good view.”
In Golden State’s preseason opener, Kerr started Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis as Wiggins was unavailable. The team wants to start a center next to Green, which may make it difficult for both Kuminga and Wiggins to start.
Wiggins came off the bench last year for the first time ever, after starting the first 635 games of his career. The former No. 1 overall pick averaged a career-low 13.2 points per game in a trying season.
If the starting lineup comes down to either Wiggins or Kuminga, Golden State may lean toward the younger forward with more upside — even if Kuminga isn’t yet the two-way player Wiggins is at his best.
“I’m not even thinking about all that right now, to be honest,” Wiggins said when asked about possibly coming off the bench. “It’s preseason, I’m just trying to get my work done.”
– Toward the end of practice, shooting guard Brandin Podziemski hurt his right (non-shooting) shoulder during a shell drill. He got some brief attention from a trainer while holding his arm and didn’t return to the drill. It’s possible he was supposed to be done at that point, but he did not participate in the rest of the session as his teammates continued.
– Melton impressed next to Curry in their first preseason game, scoring eight points in 12 minutes. It’ll take some time to get used to Curry’s unique style and the gravity his shooting range creates, but Melton is historically a good screener (he played power forward in high school) and should pair well in the backcourt with Curry as long as his career 37% 3-point shot holds up.
