The Golden State Warriors still have a huge unknown coming into training camp. Andrew Wiggins, as it stands, could potentially miss all of the team's home games should he still refuse the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Warriors swingman had his religious exemption request officially denied by the NBA, with little recourse but to get vaccinated or face the consequences.
Asked about Wiggins during Warriors media day, head coach Steve Kerr offered “no update” on where his player stands in terms of getting vaccinated. Kerr was also asked about NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar blasting stars who refused to take the vaccine with claims it should be mandated by the league to get the shot.
Via Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“I believe in the vaccine,” said the Warriors coach. “Our team believes in it. We are living in a world where everybody is divided, and everything becomes a political tool. You say one thing, and it gets weaponized, either for you or against you. You have to navigate all of this stuff delicately. We try to treat everybody with respect, and I think that’s all we can do: respect each other, try to communicate on a really sane level, and see where everything goes.”
Steve Kerr clearly doesn't want to show up Wiggins amid all the drama already resonating. While the Warriors coach would obviously prefer to leave it all behind in favor of just plain basketball, the political nature of these rules and regulations makes things extra complicated.
Despite this dark shadow hovering over the Warriors heading into training camp, Kerr maintained that they're not doing anything differently. According to him, there is no preparation being done on a contingency plan despite the very real threat that they could lose Andrew Wiggins for half the season.
“There’s no sense in speculating right now,” Kerr said. “In an NBA season, what I’ve learned is that a million things happen. You just adapt on the fly. If you tried to get ready for every contingency, you’d be running around in circles. He’s practicing. He looks great. He’s in good spirits. His teammates love him. His coaches love him. We’re happy that he’s in the building, and we’re all just working and getting ready for the season. “We’ll adapt accordingly.”
Andrew Wiggins was a full participant during the Warriors' first training camp practice and is still a part of the team's preparations going forward. Whether that changes or not, we'll just have to wait and see.
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