It's no secret that Aaron Wiggins had become an expendable luxury for the OKC Thunder before getting dealt to the Atlanta Hawks late Sunday night. His salary had become nothing more than a roadblock toward getting under the second apron, and general manager Sam Presti didn't have much of a choice.
While the move was necessary, it doesn't take away from the fact that Wiggins is a competent young talent who is capable of success when given the opportunity. Now, the Thunder may have sent him to the perfect situation in which he can fill his former employer with instant remorse.
Wiggins has already shown what he is capable of when given an extended look. In the 2024-25 season, he averaged 21.4 points in games in which he played over 30 minutes, including 30, 35, and 41-point performances.
While his average in such games declined the following season, he still proved to be a prolific player deserving of a consistent role.
Though the veteran's clock with the Thunder has been ticking for some time now, it doesn't take away from the fact that he has established himself as a competent scorer capable of exploding onto the scene at any given moment.
Thunder sent Aaron Wiggins to a near-perfect situation
All OKC received in exchange for the five-year vet was a pair of second-round picks, one in 2030 and the other in 2032. It won't take All-Star-level production for Wiggins to outplay such a middling return.
Wiggins lands with a Hawks team that just made the playoffs for the first time since 2023. While they have a promising future ahead of them, they proved to be in dire need of more depth after getting ousted by the Knicks in the first round.
As of now, Wiggins slots right into the second unit on the wing alongside veteran Corey Kispert and another relatively fresh face, Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga came on as a bit of a reclamation project and flashed signs of brilliance in Atlanta, registering box scores of 17, 20, and 24 points in his 16 games with his new squad.
With a starting unit led by versatile forward Jalen Johnson, the Hawks are building a system in which Aaron Wiggins can fit in perfectly. Wiggins himself is a bit of a jack of all trades, who has shown the ability to play both on and off the ball. He certainly moves with the agility and quickness to keep pace with the rest of his new teammates. Seeing him immediately logging upwards of 25 minutes per game would not be out of the question.
It's clear that the Thunder don't have much choice when it comes to offloading unneeded members of their bench, but Wiggins has the potential to make them look like clear losers of this deal when all is said and done. With the Hawks in desperate need of immediate difference-makers, acquiring a former NBA champion who has already shown his upside could be exactly what they need to take the next step as a playoff contender.
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