New-look Warriors frontcourt may have ended Mavericks' chances of an upgrade

Andrew Wiggins has endured a tough season. He has failed to showcase the skills that made him essential to the Golden State Warriors 2022 championship run. He lost his starting spot to Jonathan Kuminga. And his counting stats have all been trending in the wrong direction. You can understand why the Warriors have been exploring Wiggins' potential trade market. 

However, Steve Kerr recently implemented a new frontcourt. The trio consists of Wiggins, Kuminga and Draymond Green. Golden State has looked vastly improved since that change came into effect. As such, the chances of the Warriors trading Wiggins have likely taken a significant hit. That will be unwelcome news for the Dallas Mavericks. 

According to Matt Moore of The Action Network, Dallas is interested in adding Wiggins to their rotation ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline. 

"The other player the Warriors are looking to move is Andrew Wiggins, whose plus-minus splits this season are essentially a horror show," Moore reported. "The team with the most interest in Wiggins over the last two weeks, according to sources, is the Dallas Mavericks. Details of talks aren't known."

Golden State is unlikely to break up a rotation that's finally performing at a high level. In the past five games, Wiggins has begun to look like the three-and-D savant we've come to know. He's also proving to be the ideal partner for Kuminga, who is thriving as the Warriors' primary interior scorer.

Dallas' window to acquire Wiggins has likely closed. Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. will undoubtedly continue to gauge Wiggins' value around the NBA, but without a surefire upgrade coming back in return, he's unlikely to risk derailing a team that's finally getting back on track. As such, Dallas will need to look elsewhere for defensive improvements. Wiggins would have been ideal. Now, he could be a swing factor in the Warriors' pursuit of yet another championship. After all, there's more than enough time to make up for his slow start by being a key contributor to another championship run.