Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

Andrew Wiggins Trade: Miami Heat Take Backstep in Making Trade Discussion with Lakers

Miami has no real interest in trading Wiggins, which would justify the high request.

Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

With the 2025-26 NBA regular season about a month away, teams are making final moves for the upcoming campaign. According to reports, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to add another small forward to their roster. Specifically, the team is interested in the Miami Heat’s Andrew Wiggins.

Throughout this offseason, several journalists have reported on the Lakers’ desire. In fact, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Heat requested a package including Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht , and a first-round pick. However, according to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points, Miami has no real interest in trading Wiggins, which would justify the high request.

“At this point, the Heat are not showing much interest in trading Wiggins and are operating with a wait-and-see mentality in the first few months of the regular season, sources said,” Siegel said Wednesday (17). “Miami has maintained a high price for the former first overall pick, a price the Lakers are not willing to pay.”

The Heat are not discussing an Andrew Wiggins trade with the Lakers and have no interest in moving him right now, per @BrettSiegelNBA pic.twitter.com/e4iCdLk3px
— SleeperHeat (@SleeperHeat) September 18, 2025

Therefore, it’s quite likely that Wiggins will at least start the season in Miami, and depending on his season and the team, things could change. In 2024-25, he played for the Golden State Warriors until February, when he was traded to the Heat. Overall, he appeared in 60 games and averaged 18 points, 37.4% three-point shooting, and 4.3 rebounds.

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What are the Lakers willing to include in the trade?

Currently, the team has LeBron James and Rui Hachimura as starters on the wing. Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbuilt are also on the bench. The team has lost a significant amount with Dorian Finney-Smith’s departure, and a reinforcement would be greatly appreciated.

The issue is that Miami is asking for Hachimura in the trade package, a very important starter for the team who doesn’t owe much to Wiggins. Furthermore, the request for a future draft pick is the biggest impediment, as the Lakers want to keep the future open to build a strong team around Luka Doncic . Finally, the LA team appears willing to trade Dalton Knecht, a shooting guard who has been on a downswing since the last trade deadline.

Should the Lakers pull the trigger on an Andrew Wiggins trade? Well, here are the 3 options/timelines to consider with it

1. Pulling the trigger right now – higher price, but more time to build chemistry
2. Waiting until in-season – likely lower price but less time for chemistry… pic.twitter.com/12oY9iI8EN
— JSM (@JSMonYT) September 17, 2025

On the other hand, Wiggins has two years remaining on his contract with the Heat and can opt out of his current deal after this season, leaving him free to sign with any franchise. Another positive for the Lakers is that Hachimura’s contract also expires at the end of this season, just like LeBron’s. This means the team will have plenty of cap space to bring in Wiggins and other players if the star player doesn’t return to LA.

Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

Andrew Wiggins

NBA 2025-26

Gulshan Sharma

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.