WHY ISN'T ANDREW WIGGINS PLAYING FOR TEAM CANADA? STAR FOWARD REPORTEDLY BLOCKED BY WARRIORS FOR 2024 OLYMPICS
Team Canada will reportedly go to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games without Warriors star forward Andrew Wiggins.
Wiggins was originally included as one of the 20 players on Canada Basketball's Olympics training camp roster, but he is now "out of the picture," according to the Toronto Star's Doug Smith.
This decision continues an ongoing standoff between Team Canada and the former No. 1 overall pick, who has not suited up for his country since the 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Why is Wiggins set to miss the 2024 Olympics? The Sporting News explains the situation below.
Why isn't Andrew Wiggins playing for Team Canada?
It was revealed on the morning of Team Canada's first training camp session for the Olympics that Wiggins is "out of [the] Canadian Olympic picture," per the Toronto Star's Smith.
"Golden State Warriors playing hardball with veteran they are looking to move," Smith added.
This set off a domino effect of reliable Team Canada reporters piecing together the story.
"Told this was 11th hour thing. Wiggins was insured and cleared medically by [Canada Basketball] but now very much on trade block & Dubs not having it," Sportsnet's Michael Grange reported.
"With Wiggins' ankle injury last season and $85m on the line, not hard for team doctor to find a reason. Wiggins not happy, but not many options."
Wiggins' displeasure with the Warriors' decision is the biggest thing to note there.
That suggests the Canada star is being blocked by Golden State, telling him he cannot participate because it could deter his trade value if he gets hurt.
He has only played for Team Canada once (2020 Olympic Qualifiers) since he was first selected for the Senior Men's National Team at the 2015 FIBA Americas championship.
Wiggins has three years and $85 million remaining on his current Warriors contract. He signed a four-year, $109 million extension with Golden State after his breakout performance in the 2022 NBA Finals but has not had the same level of production since.
Over the last two seasons, Wiggins only averaged 14.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. It appears he is a potential trade chip as Golden State looks to make quick improvements after missing the playoffs last season.
Canada Olympics men's basketball roster
Here are the players who have been invited to the Canada Basketball training camp in Toronto:
| Position | Player | Team |
| F | Kyle Alexander | Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel) |
| G | Nickeil Alexander-Walker | Timberwolves |
| G | RJ Barrett | Raptors |
| G | Trae Bell-Haynes | Casademont Zaragoza (Spain) |
| C | Khem Birch | Basquet Girona (Spain) |
| F | Oshae Brissett | Celtics |
| F | Dillon Brooks | Rockets |
| G | Luguentz Dort | Thunder |
| C | Zach Edey | Grizzlies |
| F | Melvin Ejim | Unicaja (Spain) |
| G | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Thunder |
| F | Mfiondu Kabengele | Venezia (Italy) |
| F | Trey Lyles | Kings |
| G | Jamal Murray | Nuggets |
| G | Andrew Nembhard | Pacers |
| C | Kelly Olynyk | Raptors |
| C | Dwight Powell | Mavericks |
| G | Phil Scrubb | Bahçeşehir Koleji (Turkey) |
| G | Thomas Scrubb | Monbus Obradoiro (Spain) |
| F | Andrew Wiggins | Warriors |
As mentioned above, Wiggins will reportedly not be available for Team Canada but has not officially been removed from the player pool.
Canada Basketball veterans Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph are two notable omissions from the roster.
It is also worth mentioning that Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder) and Trail Blazers wing Shaedon Sharpe (abdominal) are both invited to camp but will not be able to participate in the Olympics due to injury.
Team Canada will have to trim this 20-man training camp roster to 12 players ahead of the Paris Games.
2024-06-28T16:24:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd