Golden State Warriors' Steve Kerr Gives Update On Andrew Wiggins' Status
Andrew Wiggins has not played for the Golden State Warriors since February 13 due to personal reasons. With the Warriors set to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, Wiggins is scheduled to miss his ninth straight game, leading many to question when he will be back for the defending NBA champions.
On Monday during the team’s practice, head coach Steve Kerr talked about Wiggins’ absence from the team and how they are giving him the space he needs at this time.
“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. “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.”
During Wiggins’ absence, the Warriors have gone 5-3, most recently losing to the Los Angeles Lakers this past Sunday.
“Wigs is my brother,” Warriors guard Jordan Poole said on Monday. “I’ve been talking to him over the course of these three weeks and obviously we are giving him strength and all the support he needs. Whenever he is ready to come back, whenever he is ready to rejoin the team, he will and I think our staff and organization is doing an amazing job of allowing him to spend this time with his family… I think he knows we all have his back and he can take as much time as he needs.”
Making the All-Star Game for the first time in his career a season ago, Andrew Wiggins proved to be extremely valuable in the Warriors’ run at their fourth championship in the last eight seasons.
This season, Wiggins is shooting a career-best 39.6 percent from three-point range and is fourth on the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game.
GM Bob Myers also recently spoke on Wiggins’ absence from the team on 95.7 The Game’s “Steiny & Guru”, stating that the organization does not believe he will miss the rest of the season, but that they are giving him the time he needs to sort things out.
After their game against the Thunder on Tuesday night, the Warriors will be back on action on Thursday when they end their current three-game road trip against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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