The offseason rumor mill once flooded with talk of Andrew Wiggins and the Los Angeles Lakers being a match made in heaven. Rob Pelinka’s pursuit of a two-way upgrade on the wings may be forced to take an alternative path by the time the NBA trade deadline comes around.
It is still very early in the NBA season, but the Miami Heat do not look the part of the complete afterthought some would have thought them to be heading into 2025-26. Erik Spoelstra has his squad performing rather well out of the gates, and if the trend continues, anticipating them as sellers is a tough idea to get behind.
One of the biggest discussion points of the offseason was the power vacuum that needed to be filled at the top of the Eastern Conference after injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton derailed the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. Most anticipated it would be the Cleveland Cavaliers or New York Knicks competing for those honors.
The Heat are lurking as a team who hopes to challenge that. The offense has looked explosive, even without Tyler Herro being available due to an ankle injury. If Miami keeps trending towards the top, one would imagine they will be looking to capitalize on that success in February.
Miami’s success could slam the door on Lakers-Andrew Wiggins trade
Marc Stein was the man who connected Wiggins to the Lakers back in September. It is important to remember a few things with that rumor mill report.
Stein estimated Wiggins as the type of player who would interest the Lakers. The NBA insider did not directly report the Heat forward as someone Pelinka had been eyeing.
Granted, Jovan Buha did actually make that connection at an earlier point of the offseason. Wiggins’ name was not exactly emerging out of nowhere. There was substance to the thought put forward by Stein, and then later Dan Woike.
A big part of Stein’s reporting highlighted that for Miami to seriously consider putting Wiggins on the trade market, prioritizing financial flexibility would be the leading factor. If the Heat are in a strong position in the standings closer to the NBA trade deadline, one would not expect Pat Riley to be of that mindset.
Wiggins, for his part, has not necessarily made himself indispensable to Miami in the early parts of the season. His production has been solid, but not groundbreaking by any means.
Still, when looking at the bigger picture and overall formula, if it continues working for the Heat, then breaking that up does not make a ton of sense unless absolutely assured of an upgrade from a potential move. The Lakers should quickly start making backup plans.
