The Los Angeles Lakers have made two moves so far this offseason to bring in outside talent. Rob Pelinka first signed young forward Jake LaRavia and then backed up that move by signing Deandre Ayton.
While both pickups will have a chance to make an impact on the Lakers during the 2025-26 season, more work needs to be done.
LeBron James has become a major talking point in recent days. His future with the team seems cloudy at best. There have been a lot of trade rumors surrounding him, but he could still play out the final year of his contract and leave next offseason.
Keeping that in mind, Los Angeles has also been linked to multiple different trade rumors. One of those rumors connected them to Miami Heat wing Andrew Wiggins.
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Wiggins would have be a nice pickup for the Lakers. However, a new update has shot down the team’s chances of acquiring him.
Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald gave the update, making it clear that the Heat are expected to retain Wiggins.
“During an interview at summer league practice in Vegas, Erik Spoelstra says Andrew Wiggins is already back in South Florida and views him as an important piece of the Heat’s rotation next season,” Chiang wrote on X.
“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.”
At this point, it’s safe to write Wiggins off as a possible target barring a major change. Keeping him makes sense for Miami, who recently added Norman Powell to the roster in a major three-team trade.
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During the 2024-25 NBA season split between the Golden State Warriors and Heat, Wiggins played in 60 games. He averaged 18 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and a steal per game. Wiggins also shot 44.8 percent from the floor and 37.4 percent from the three-point line.
It will be interesting to see where Pelinka and Los Angeles go from here. There are still multiple avenues to improving the team, but the James situation could have them on hold.
Expect to continue hearing the Lakers in the NBA rumor mill. Wiggins may be off the board, but they have been connected to other trades as well that could still be worked out.
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