Most of the offseason transactions have come and gone, but the Los Angeles Lakers still find themselves in need of a traditional point of attack defender. The best option available appeared to Miami Heat’s Andrew Wiggins, who was a vital piece to the Golden State Warriors winning a championship in 2022.
Notably, Wiggins was traded at the deadline this past season in the blockbuster deal that involved Jimmy Butler going to Golden State. Given how Miami is in limbo as they moved on from Butler, a rebuild or retooling was certainly on the table.
However, with Pat Riley as their president, he wants to compete at all costs and not go through a down period. That means that Wiggins will begin next season in South Florida, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald:
The expectation is the Heat will move forward with Andrew Wiggins on its roster for the start of next season. The Heat wants to see what this mix will look like. https://t.co/FgfEv2CmXm
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) July 12, 2025
Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Eastern Conference is up for grabs next year and teams are trying to go all in for a potential NBA Finals appearance. Miami has made improbable postseason runs in recent years, making it to the Finals twice in 2020 and 2023, but could not cash in on a title.
Another indication that Riley wanted to keep a competitive roster for next season was by trading for Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell. So, Wiggins slots into a starting lineup of Tyler Herro, Powell, Kel’el Ware and Bam Adebayo.
Frankly, that is not a bad starting lineup, but will presumably not be seen as an Eastern Conference elite. L.A. may continue to monitor Wiggins’ situation throughout next year, but perhaps Riley would like to keep him to create a new title window.
Now, general manager Rob Pelinka is out on a potential wing target and he may not decide to force the issue on finding someone else on the trade market for the time being.
Heat were asking for Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht & first-round pick for Andrew Wiggins
With Luka Doncic as the Lakers’ next face of the franchise, Rob Pelinka needs to build a roster that better suits his skillset. On paper, Andrew Wiggins was a perfect fit to provide that perimeter defense and ability to play on or off the ball.
But, Miami had a steep asking price as they wanted Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht and a first-round pick were what they were looking for in exchange for the 30-year-old forward.
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