The Los Angeles Lakers saw their 2025-26 NBA season end at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals, and they might now try to bring in some of their players. Heavy’s NBA insider Sean Deveney named Thunder’s Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins as two possible targets for the Lakers.
“There are other possible Lakers targets on the Thunder roster, too. Aaron Wiggins would be a sensible fit and affordable at $9 million for next year. Isaiah Joe ($11.3 million next year) can be had, and he’s a 40.3% 3-point shooter in his career.”
Joe certainly would be a welcome addition from a shooting standpoint. Luke Kennard (44.8%) and Rui Hachimura (44.3%) were really the only reliable three-point shooters among the Lakers’ role players during the regular season, and they’re both free agents this summer.
Surrounding Luka Doncic with snipers is key, and that is what Joe is. The 26-year-old shot 42.3% from three on 6.0 attempts per game this season. Joe did drop to 34.8% in the playoffs, but had been over 40.0% in the Thunder’s playoff runs in 2024 and 2025. He’s about as reliable as it gets.
As for Wiggins, he averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Thunder in 2025-26. The 27-year-old isn’t as good a shooter as Joe, as he shot 35.6% from three.
Wiggins has shot 38.0% from beyond the arc for his career, so he is no slouch. Unlike Joe, he is a good perimeter defender, which is also something Doncic and the Lakers need.
Now, a concern that would be brought up is that Joe and Wiggins barely played for the Thunder in the playoffs. The former was at 10.1 minutes per game, and the latter was at 8.0.
Wiggins probably would play more minutes if he were on another team, though. As good as he is as a 3-and-D option, the Thunder had better ones in Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso.
As for Joe, well, his defensive issues mean you can’t really play him too much in the playoffs. He will knock down threes when he’s out there, but you’ll have to find a way to hide him a bit on the defensive end.
Considering Doncic and Austin Reaves (expected to stay with the team) aren’t exactly great defenders, too, Joe probably shouldn’t be at the top of the Lakers’ list. These are the kind of players they are said to be eyeing, though. The Athletic reported the Lakers have identified the profile of players they need.
“There is a desire for better center play, true lob threats who mimic the skills of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II (with cleaner injury histories). There is a desire for true two-way defensive players, wings with athleticism and energy on the defensive end and a sweet shooting stroke on the offensive side of the ball.”
The Thunder do have a lot of these, which is, in part, why they won the championship in 2025 and were one win away from getting back to the NBA Finals in 2026.
Deveney mentioned Joe and Wiggins here, and a Western Conference executive urged the Lakers to also target Dort. He would certainly help address their issues on the defensive end.
It will be interesting to see what Lakers president of basketball operations and GM Rob Pelinka ends up doing this summer. They will have a lot of cap space, but also have a lot of players to sign. Most notably, Reaves is expected to become a free agent by opting out of his $14.9 million player option, while LeBron James will become one. What the Lakers do with these two will determine how the rest of the roster is shaped.
