The Golden State Warriors are just one of a myriad of teams from around the league that have been linked to a possible swoop for the Philadelphia 76ers' want-away star Ben Simmons. The Sixers have placed a ridiculous price tag on the former Rookie of the Year winner and it is clear that the Dubs would need to give up quite a haul in a potential Simmons trade.

One player that has been included in these trade rumors is Andrew Wiggins. The 26-year-old has been quite the revelation for the Warriors since joining the team in 2020 and he has since established himself as a key part of the squad. This is exactly the point of former Dubs wing Dorell Wright as he explained why he firmly believes that Golden State would be foolish to even consider trading Wiggins for Simmons:

“I think with this team right now is perfect,” Wright said on the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast (h/t Alex Didion of NBC Sports). “For Ben Simmons, of course you call and just see what is going on, because he is a big-time player, former number one pick, and we know all the things he brings to the game. So you definitely want to know exactly what they are looking for.”

“But I really, really like this team, because I think you would have to give up too much for Ben Simmons.”

Wright makes an excellent point here about the Warriors possibly messing up their squad if they give up too much in exchange for Simmons. The Dubs have been excellent this season and they are currently sitting at the second spot in a ruthless Western Conference. Simmons does have a lot of upside, but in his mind, Wright believes that the Warriors would be taking too big a risk in trading for the three-time All-Star — particularly if Wiggins is part of the deal:

“I'm not trading Wiggins. That would be a big mistake getting rid of Wiggins,” Wright said.

“Now, if you are not talking about messing up anything with the core guys, and when I say core, I mean Klay, Steph, Draymond and Wiggins. If you do not have to touch those four, then maybe we can talk a little bit more about making that happen. If it is going to mess up those core guys, I would not even think about doing it. It is all about winning right now. These guys are getting older and older in their career, and I am pretty sure they want to win more championships, not just one, but maybe a few more. So if you can keep those four guys, then maybe I will take a look at it.”

Wright then cracked up as he realized how “impossible” his proposed trade scenario sounded like. The Sixers know how valuable Ben Simmons is and they're definitely not going to give him up for cheap. For the Warriors, it does sound highly unlikely that they will be able to acquire the former first overall pick without taking a significant blow. As Wright described above, this could require having to break up their current core.

Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Warriors
Credit: USATSI

If the Warriors are indeed serious about trying to get some value out of Wiggins in the trade market then Wright outlined the specific requirements the Dubs must have in any potential deal:

“That person needs to be a ‘3 & D' guy. Period,” Wright said. “Because that is the beauty of having Andrew Wiggins. You take so much pressure off of Klay Thompson now, he does not have to guard the best player on the other team. So whomever you get for Andrew Wiggins has to be able to guard. If he can't guard, and then he can't get you a bucket on the other end, it is kind of hard.”

“You would be lacking in wings. The thing about Andrew Wiggins is he is versatile. You can post him up, you can put him in the pick and roll, you can use his length against point guards if you need him to guard a Ja Morant. He's so versatile, it is kind of hard to give up someone like that for someone that can score a little bit better.

“There are a lot of guys out there that do not have the same intangibles as Andrew Wiggins.”

Again, Dorell Wright points out a number of excellent observations about Wiggins here. There's just no denying that the former Minnesota Timberwolves star has found his groove in Golden State and he's become a very important member of the squad. There has been talk of Wiggins potentially earning his spot in this year's All-Star game and based on what we've seen from him thus far, it's hard to argue against this notion.