As the Warriors’ preseason schedule concludes, coach Steve Kerr is trying to get forward Andrew Wiggins back in shape.
After Friday night’s 109-106 win over the Sacramento Kings, Kerr told reporters that Wiggins is still working his way back from his illness, but expects to be back soon.
“Wigs will be back next week,” Kerr said. “He won’t play Sunday (against the Detroit Pistons), but it’s important to get him back on the floor. We’ll see (what the lineup looks like) when we get there. We’ll play Sunday’s game and see what the lineup looks like. We’ll regroup from there. Then we’ll have a good week of practice and a few games, and then we’ll go from there.”
As such, Wiggins could play in Tuesday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas. The Warriors and Lakers will meet again on Friday in the preseason finale at Chase Center.
Wiggins has missed all preseason games so far, but Kerr and his team are hopeful he’ll be back in shape in time for the season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 23.
With Klay Thompson now a Dallas Maverick, the Warriors desperately need a second scoring option behind Stephen Curry, and Wiggins could fill that role if he can stay healthy.
Wiggins has shown flashes of brilliance since arriving in the Bay in 2020, but he has also struggled with consistency. After an All-Star appearance in 2021-22 that helped lead the Warriors to another NBA championship, Wiggins took a major step back, averaging just 14.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game over the next two seasons. His scoring average is well below his career mark of 18.2 points, and he has missed 56 games during that time.
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