Warriors F Andrew Wiggins agrees to 4-year, $109 million extension, per report
The Golden State Warriors initially acquired Andrew Wiggins as a reclamation project. They just put another order in.
The former first overall pick has agreed with the Warriors on a four-year, $109 million contract extension, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Wiggins was already under contract for this season on a $33.6 million salary, so the new deal will keep him in San Francisco for five years and $143 million.
Reporting with @kendra__andrews: Golden State Warriors All-Star Andrew Wiggins has agreed to a four-year, $109 million extension, his agents Drew Morrison and Steven Heumann of CAA Sports tell ESPN. Wiggins is now tied to the Warriors for five-years, $143 million.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2022
Wiggins' extension is the Warriors' second nine-figure deal of the day, as they also locked up rising star Jordan Poole on a four-year, $140 million extension.
After the season Wiggins just had, averaging 17.2 points per game and shooting .393 from 3-point range for the championship-winning Warriors, it's hard to blame both sides for wanting to continue the partnership for another half-decade.
Andrew Wiggins has resurrected his career with the Warriors
When Wiggins first put on a Warriors uniform, he was little more than an extraordinarily expensive lottery ticket for Golden State.
A six-season tenure with the Minnesota Timberwolves had left Wiggins with a reputation as an empty-calorie scorer whose max contract was weighing down an organization with hopes of contending. The Timberwolves were so eager to swap him for D'Angelo Russell they attached a first-round pick that eventually became Jonathan Kuminga.
The Warriors made the move at their nadir during the lost 2019-20 season, having signed Russell to a contract with some hope of finding young talent in the post-Kevin Durant era. Trading for Wiggins was a restructuring of that plan, and it most certainly worked out.
Instead of being left to frequently initiate offense like he was in Minnesota, Wiggins flourished in a lower-usage role while Stephen Curry, Poole and Draymond Green covered more of the ball-handling duties. He led the Warriors in catch-and-shoot percentage on 3-pointers (41.0%) last season, per NBA Advanced Stats. Meanwhile, he became an important defender in the Warriors' system, leading the team in defensive field goal attempts per game.
All of that added up to plenty of flowers for Wiggins as the Warriors made their run last season, not to mention a first-career All-Star nod (with some thanks to the Golden State voters).
The Warriors' gargantuan luxury tax bill after Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole extensions
If it sounds expensive to add two nine-figure extensions in a single day to a team already facing an infamously large luxury tax bill, you're not wrong.
With Wiggins and Poole's new contracts, the Warriors are on track to pay $268 million in luxury tax, plus $215 million in salary, should Draymond Green opt into his $27.6 million player option, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.
Golden St. payroll and tax penalty in 2023/24 will likely exceed $500M once the roster is filled.
That factors in Draymond Green opting-in to his $27.6M player option.
With 12 players
💰Salary: $215M
💰Tax: $268M
💰💰Total: $483M— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 15, 2022
As Marks notes, that total bill is more than Joe Lacob and the Warriors ownership group paid for the entire team in 2010.
In addition to Green, Wiggins ($24.3 million) and Poole ($31.3 million), the Warriors also have Curry ($51.9 million), Thompson ($43.2 million) and James Wiseman ($12.1 million) under contract for the 2023-24 season, per Spotrac.
No one ever said trying to build a dynasty is cheap.
