This season's NBA regular season has all come to an end, and although the Warriors are the defending champions, they have not played a championship-level record, but in the short term, the Warriors' form has indeed improved, and they can be said to have ended the regular season strongly, and the record is locked in the 6th position in the West. Facing the young Kings in the first round of the playoffs is already the best outcome for the Warriors in the current situation, and the Warriors are also considered the most likely team in the West to finish the playoffs. And before the start of the playoffs, the Warriors welcomed back the core roster, which is also the key to their championship attack. 5 years 142 million, sacrifice for the old Warriors, the number two star behind Curry, your return gives the Warriors hope to defend their title.
In fact, fans have lost confidence in the Warriors' ability to defend their title this season as their core roster continues to fluctuate and chaos. However, when the Warriors ended the regular season strongly, and their long-departed core forward Andrew Wiggins returned to the team and was ready to play, things changed a lot. There is no doubt that Wiggins' return not only heralds the return of the Warriors' core roster in good health, but also gives them great confidence to compete for the championship and ensure the health of the core players, which is one of the goals of the Warriors this season, obviously, from a certain point of view, the Warriors have achieved a lot of goals this season.
Although Warriors coach Kerr said in an interview that it would be irresponsible to let Wiggins play now, they will reassess Wiggins' situation a week later. However, according to Warriors reporter Kendall Anderson, the Warriors' plan is to have Wiggins back in the first game of the playoffs, Wiggins is physically ready, and it looks like the Warriors will be in the starting lineup in the first game of the playoffs, and put out their strongest lineup. I have to say that Wiggins' return is a shot in the arm for the Warriors. You know, Wiggins has been away from the Warriors since the last regular season game before the All-Star weekend, he disappeared for more than 1 and a half months, and he also missed the Warriors' last 25 regular season games.
Whenever the Warriors perform badly on the court, especially when the defensive end feels weak, fans will always feel discouraged, plus Wiggins has almost no news, many people already believe that Wiggins is likely not to return this season, and the Warriors will also lose competitiveness in the playoffs due to the lack of a good rebounder, a top outside defender, and a player who can contribute a steady 18 points per game. From the perspective of the comprehensive ability of both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, Wiggins is indeed the player who has the greatest impact on the Warriors after Curry, and if he can't come back, the Warriors really have no chance to defend the title. Fortunately, Wiggins returned to the Bay Area before the playoffs began.
Wiggins and the Warriors, I have to say, are a relationship of mutual achievement. After coming to the Warriors, Wiggins felt the warmth of home, and after winning the championship with the Warriors, he made it clear that he wanted to retire as a Warriors player. Wiggins revealed that the Warriors are a team that really cares about the families of their players, they are not just an NBA team, they are a big family, and Wiggins loves playing in this environment. Of course, Wiggins is not just talking politely on the surface, in order to end the Warriors, Wiggins also made sacrifices, he did not hesitate to accept the Warriors' four-year $109 million early contract extension, extending his contract with the Warriors to 5 years 142 million.
Although Wiggins is not a full-paid forward, he has proven that he is not capable of carrying a team during his time with the Timberwolves, but the four-year, $109 million contract is already a lot of salary reduction for him. 27 years old is at the peak, just selected as an All-Star or the starting lineup, and played a top defensive performance in the playoffs, won a championship, you don't care if Wiggins' All-Star starter is not watery, he did reach the peak of his career, put Wiggins in the market, even if he can't get a top salary contract with a starting salary of more than $40 million, a contract with a starting salary of 3,000, teams are vying for it.
But Wiggins opted for a contract with an average salary of just $25 million, and his contract was not even as good as Poole's new contract. Wiggins made great sacrifices in terms of salary for the Warriors, and the Warriors also made Wiggins, in addition to making Wiggins feel a different atmosphere and play peak performance. When Wiggins encountered family troubles and faced some difficulties, the Warriors gave Wiggins enough respect, and for a month and a half, the Warriors did not leak half of Wiggins' wind, and the pervasive media did not get the slightest bit of Wiggins' news, and the Warriors also achieved player-based in this regard.