Latest Updates On Andrew Wiggins' Potential Return To Warriors This Season
With just 13 games remaining on their schedule, including Wednesday night’s important game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Golden State Warriors still have not given any updates on Andrew Wiggins.
Stepping away from the team following their game on February 13 due to a personal family matter, many thought Wiggins would be back after a week or so. Over a month later, Wiggins remains away from Golden State and his absence is beginning to create a cause for concern for the defending champions.
The Warriors have not looked like themselves defensively without Andrew Wiggins and his lost production on the offensive-end of the floor out on the wing has really hindered Golden State’s chances to contend for a top-seed in the Western Conference.
As far as updates go from the Warriors, the organization has been dead-silent on Wiggins’ whereabouts and not much has been said by his teammates nor head coach Steve Kerr.
“The only thing that matters is giving Andrew the space that he needs to deal with what he is going through and that’s what we are doing,” Kerr told reporters recently. “Nothing else really matters. You know, the focus of the team or the games or whatever, it’s just basketball. He’s dealing with something that is important to him and personal, so we are giving him space. It’s as simple as that.”
Giving him the space that he needs to figure things out, the Warriors have been extremely patient with Andrew Wiggins and they are allowing him the proper time he needs to sort real-life things out before returning to the court.
Obviously they want him out there on the floor, as having Wiggins healthy and available makes the Warriors an even better championship threat than they already are, but the 28-year-old forward has earned the respect of everyone apart of this organization, which is why nothing has leaked internally.
“Friend-to-friend, teammate-to-teammate, I am just sending him support,” reigning Finals MVP Stephen Curry said recently. "This is a tough situation in terms of him being away for so long, but necessary. Life is bigger than basketball and whatever him and his family are going through, that's all that matters. Whenever he's ready to come back, I am sure he will. I know he's missing the vibe of being with us and we miss him too."
As far as returning at some point this year, whether that be before the end of the regular season or in the playoffs, Warriors general manager Bob Myers still expects Andrew Wiggins to return in the near future.
“We have to respect him and his life and his privacy, just like I would respect yours,” Myers said on 95.7 The Game on Wednesday. “That doesn’t mean people have to like that answer, but in our opinions, it is the right answer. Certainly, I am sure he wants to be here, we want him here, but beyond that, I can’t help shed light because if I was in the situation he was in and I asked people to keep it private, I hope they would… I haven’t heard anything along the lines of he’s not coming back. There’s speculation on that, but I haven’t been told ‘Hey, look, I’m not coming back.’ Nobody has said that to me.”
Obviously what Wiggins is dealing with and going through is a serious personal matter, which is why Golden State is giving him the proper time he needs to figure everything out. His teammates and the coaching staff have remained in constant contact with Wiggins and they have offered him their support and thoughts numerous times since his absence began.
You never know what someone is going through in life and just because someone is a professional athlete does not change the fact that they are still human and they still have everyday problems in life they must come face-to-face with, just like you and me.
When Andrew Wiggins is ready to return and play basketball again for the Golden State Warriors, he will do so. Until then, respecting his wishes and giving him the space he needs is all the Warriors can do.
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