ESPN Veteran Suggests Warriors to Trade Andrew Wiggins for ‘Bag of Cookies’ Over Mental Concerns

Golden State Warriors small forward Andrew Wiggins has been a part of the franchise for over four seasons now. While the player performed relatively well during his initial three years, the recent season saw a steep drop in his overall performance. Along with his score, his on-court minutes also dropped, despite the player being present for 71 of the Warriors’ games. An experienced ESPN sportscaster attributed his poor play to one factor and raised the question of whether the time has come to separate the player from the Stephen Curry-led roster.

During the recent episode of his sports podcast, Stephen A. Smith drew his viewers’ attention to the recent clash between the Warriors and the Sacramento Kings. By getting themselves defeated through a score of 94-118, the Warriors have now been eliminated from the NBA tournament. Looking at how the franchise can improve themselves next season, Smith insisted on keeping Klay Thompson in their folds. However, the action could cost the team a lot, since the player recently rejected a 2-year, $48 million contract. The 56-year-old concluded that the Warriors must cut ties with Wiggins to retain Thompson and not exceed the luxury tax limit.

“Andrew Wiggins could play, the problem is that he doesn’t show up half the time, mentally and emotionally,” said Smith. “His mind just always somewhere else, I’d give him away for a bag of cookies if I could, because he’s just not reliable”.

The sportscaster was okay with a roster that would continue to have players like Jonathon Kuminga and Brandon Podziemski. However, Wiggins was where he would draw the line.

Andrew Wiggins ended his 2023-24 season by maintaining an all-time career-low average of 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. His average number of minutes, field goal attempts, and steals were also at their lowest point. There are no significant reports that suggest that the player’s low performance was a result of him being mentally distracted. However, Wiggins had been absent for four games between late February and early March due to ‘personal matters’. He had cited the same reason last season as well, during which time he had been absent from the main lineup for two whole months.

Andrew Wiggins responded after Stephen A. Smith made the “Bag of Cookies” remark back in 2022

Surprisingly, while Stephen A. Smith’s criticism of Andrew Wiggins is not anything new, his remark about trading the player for a “Bag of Cookies” is not new either. Back in 2021, as Wiggins was playing his first season with the Warriors, Smith appeared on First Take and highlighted how the team had gone 9 minutes and 38 seconds without scoring a single point during their then-recent game against the Dallas Mavericks. While highlighting his disappointment towards the team as a whole, Smith didn’t hesitate in singling out the new player.

“The other day, I brought up about Andrew Wiggins on the jump and I said ‘I’d give him away for a box of cookies’” said Smith. “I’m not talking about his talent…. but for every 1 game he’s significant, there’s 20 games where it ain’t there”.

The Canadian player didn’t take long to respond to this criticism. After being questioned about Smith’s remarks, Wiggins stated, “There’s always going to be people, you know, that are going to say negative things, whether it is constructive criticism or not. Some things are positive. Some things are negative. But I’m going to just keep pushing either way.”

Andrew Wiggins had ended the 2020-21 season by maintaining an average of 18.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. This score was still higher than what the player recently averaged. Only time will tell whether Smith’s remarks may come to fruition and whether the Warriors will choose to trade the player away or not.