Andrew Wiggins continues to be unvaccinated, and it’s set to become an issue for the Golden State Warriors to deal with. This is because San Francisco law requires vaccinations for employees working with large indoor events, and a live basketball game is the exact definition of one.
For a Warriors squad that is still waiting for Klay Thompson and James Wiseman to heal, while also worrying about finding a way to contend for a playoff spot, Wiggins’ anti-vaccination stance is an unwelcome distraction.
Wiggins is also on the last two years of a $147 million contract that pays him $31.5 million this season and $33.6 million at the end of the 2022-23 season. Taking up that much space on payroll with no chance of playing half of the season’s games would definitely be unacceptable to the Warriors, but there’s no way to make him do anything.
The question now, is whether or not they’d be able to get any fair trade value for Wiggins, who may be angling to force his way out of the Bay Area.
He’s been quite a durable player, even if his performances have been inconsistent. You have to wonder, though, if any other teams may be willing to take a risk on him because of his choices.
On the flip side, Wiggins will start to lose money for every game he misses due to being barred from playing. Players are usually paid for games that they miss due to injury, but this would count as him simply not showing up for work. It’s also possible that he would get fined for not making practices or workouts.
This isn’t the type of drama that Warriors fans or management want to deal with right now, but with the season less than a month away from starting, it’s a situation that will be monitored closely.
