Amid the rebuild around Luka Doncic, one of the key positions the Lakers have to fill in their roster this offseason is an athletic wing who can also defend well. A few days ago, rumors suggested the Lakers could be looking at the former NBA champion Andrew Wiggins to fill that role.
Subsequently, the Lakers’ Insider for The Athletic, Dan Woike, appeared on the Zach Lowe Show and confirmed with certainty that the Lakers are out of any potential trade discussions for Wiggins.
Lowe: “…. the Lakers have, I guess, sniffed around Wiggins. I didn’t really understand any of those trade rumors.”
Woike: “They’re not, they’re not interested in Andrew Wiggins. I think I can put that to bed. I’m pretty confident in that. Let’s pretend they have.”
Lowe: “I didn’t get. I’ve already said on my podcast that I didn’t understand what those rumors like they were suddenly giving up like a lot of sh** for Andrew Wiggins. It’s like, isn’t Rui Hachimura just as good as Andrew Wiggins? Like, why am I adding a lot more to that? I like Hachimura.”
Earlier this offseason, it was reported that the Heat had made their demands clear on what they expect the Lakers to give up in a trade that brought Andrew Wiggins to LA.
According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, the Heat has set a steep asking price for Wiggins. The Heat are reportedly demanding Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura, and a future first-round pick in exchange for the 30-year-old Canadian forward.
Wiggins was traded to the Heat in a February move that sent Jimmy Butler to the Warriors. In the 60 games he played this season, he averaged 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, while shooting 44.8% from the field and 37.4% from beyond the three-point line.
While Wiggins is a potentially strong fit alongside Luka Doncic, Woike has confirmed that the rumors are baseless and we should not expect to see the Lakers make any moves for Wiggins. They had only reportedly inquired about him, but never intended to make an offer once the asking price was revealed.
The Lakers are looking for an athletic wing to replace the role that Dorian Finney-Smith played on their roster this season, or what P.J. Washington did for the Mavericks in their 2024 NBA Finals run.
The Lakers will potentially follow the same blueprint that the Mavericks did to build a roster around Doncic, but one of the biggest issues in doing that in the coming season itself is LeBron James. James picked up a $52.6 million player option this summer, which represents 34.66% of the Lakers’ total salary cap space.
According to Trevor Lane, who states Dan Woike as his source, the Lakers will not look to take on any long-term contracts in a potential trade for James as they look to free up cap space for 2026-27. This puts teams like the Clippers and Heat in a unique position to make lucrative offers to the Lakers as they have the necessary expiring contracts to make an offer worth the Lakers’ consideration keeping their demands in mind.
While no trades have yet been discussed for either Wiggins or James, I can see a future where there is a possibility that the Heat and Lakers come up with a trade package that brings Wiggins to LA and potentially reunites James with the Heat. If the Heat are willing to take the albatross of LeBron James from around the Lakers’ neck, then they may consider making the move for Wiggins.
