Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins will not play for Canada at the Olympics for medical reasons: sources

Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was not in Toronto on Friday for the start of the Canadian men’s basketball team’s training camp, which will help determine the country’s Olympic team for this summer’s tournament. Wiggins was named to the 20-man training camp roster earlier this month, but will now not participate in camp and will not be eligible for the team.

On Friday night, during the team’s first media presence of training camp, Canadian general manager Rowan Barrett said he received a call from the Warriors a few days before the start of camp informing him that Wiggins would not be available to play. When asked if Golden State gave him a reason, Barrett said, “That’s something you’ll have to talk to them about.”

A spokesperson for the Warriors responded to a request for comment from The Athletics saying that the decision was mutually made by Wiggins and that the team and Golden State could not stop him from playing for Canada. This was a medical decision, team sources said.

““Well, for us, Andrew was fine,” Barrett said. “We talked to him all the time. He’s been training for weeks and weeks to get ready for this. And then I got a call from Golden State, a day or two before camp, saying they were going to sideline him. So, as far as I can tell, this is not Andrew’s decision. This is the team’s decision.”

Wiggins played 71 games for the Warriors in 2023-24, but struggled late in the season with an ankle injury that lingered into the offseason, a potential medical issue the team could have addressed. He had a rough start to the year and finished stronger, ultimately averaging 13.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

However, his performance was still not that good compared to the 2021-22 championship season.

Golden State has been active on the trade market in the lead-up to free agency. Wiggins is set to make $26.3 million next season and is on the books for $84.65 million over the next three seasons. His contract could be needed to complete a move that shakes up the core, but sources say this Olympic decision is separate from any potential trade talks.

According to the sources, this is a purely medical decision, which was taken by mutual agreement. This will ensure Wiggins’ health for next season.

Wiggins’ inclusion on Canada’s training camp roster was somewhat controversial. In the summer of 2022, Canada asked players to make a three-year commitment to attend summer camps in order to play in the Olympics, should Canada qualify. Canada Basketball softened that stance over time, but Wiggins couldn’t make the commitment at the time because the Warriors were in the middle of their championship run and he was just a year away from unrestricted free agency.

He eventually signed a four-year contract extension with Golden State in October 2022.

Wiggins last played for Canada in 2021, when they lost in the semifinals of a last-chance qualifying tournament in Victoria, B.C., for the Tokyo Olympics. He also played for the men’s team at the 2015 FIBA ​​Americas in Mexico City, in which Canada lost to Venezuela in the semifinals.

A win in that game would have sent the team to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Wiggins would have had an inside track on a roster spot had he been in training camp, with Canada needing some bigger wings, largely on defense. This will be Canada’s first time playing the men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics since 2000.

Wiggins’ mother, Marita Payne-Wiggins, won silver medals for Canada in the 4×100-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“(I’m) disappointed for him,” Barrett said. “And I had a good chat with him, and he’s definitely trying to get the guys on the right track, so to speak, hoping for the best for the guys.”

Canada won a bronze medal at last summer’s FIBA ​​World Cup. The team is expected to be led by Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, with program veterans such as Toronto Raptors teammates Kelly Olynyk and RJ Barrett also likely heading to France.

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(Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)