Andrew Wiggins’ future with the Golden State Warriors is now well and truly under the microscope ahead of the February 6 trade deadline, with the franchise having been strongly linked to a move for Jimmy Butler or Zach LaVine over recent days.

Who knows, perhaps Saturday night’s shock Lakers-Mavericks trade could reignite the possibility of LeBron James landing in the Bay, which would almost assurently include Wiggins.

Trading Wiggins in the next week would be a somewhat shock move for the Warriors to make, particularly given the 2022 All-Star has returned to somewhere near his best form following a career-worst year last season. Wiggins is currently averaging 17.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists this season, shooting an efficient 38.3% from the floor while also adding a steal per game.

The Raptors have interest in Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins

Ask many Golden State fans and they’re against the idea of trading Wiggins for Butler or LaVine. There’s enough issues surrounding Butler’s age, injury history, locker room fit and contract situation that all figure as concerns, while flipping Wiggins for LaVine would be an offensive upgrade but also a clear defensive downgrade that makes you wonder if it’s really worth it.

As the idea of acquiring Butler and moving on from Wiggins gains some steam, NBA insider Marc Stein has reported on Saturday that the Toronto Raptors have interest in bringing the Canadian native home as the third team in any Golden State-Miami trade.

“If the Raptors could cement themselves as a facilitating team in a potential Butler-to-Golden State trade, offering (Bruce) Brown to the Heat to try to acquire Wiggins is one obvious pitch,” Stein wrote.

While many fans don’t want Wiggins traded for Butler (or LaVine) at all, sending him to Toronto does present as possibly the best of a bad situation. Furthermore than just being a homecoming for the former number one overall pick, part of the concern for fans revolves around how Wiggins could be a real key piece to a team’s deep playoff aspirations — which wouldn’t be a great look for Golden State were it to eventuate.

The Raptors are still currently in rebuild mode, meaning it could be a while before Wiggins is back in meaningful playoff basketball. Toronto being in the East is also a factor, with Golden State only facing them twice during the regular season and not till the NBA Finals in the playoffs if there was ever a rematch of their 2019 series.

Still, there’s many who hope Wiggins remains on the roster and can help the Warriors back towards a deep playoff run at some point, rather than head elsewhere and potentially make the front office regret their decision.