The Los Angeles Lakers continue to explore a long-rumored trade target ahead of this season’s Feb. 5 deadline.
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Per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, LA is keeping tabs on one-time All-Star small forward Andrew Wiggins, acquired by the Miami Heat last season as part of the blockbuster Jimmy Butler-to-the-Golden State Warriors deal.
Through 15 healthy games for the 11-6 Heat this year, the 6-foot-7 swingman out of Kansas has been averaging 16.7 points on .481/.365/.649 shooting splits, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks a night.
“We’ve also heard for some time now that the Lakers know they need some improvements on the wing as well. Andrew Wiggins has been a name that they are monitoring if Miami were to make him available,” Fischer said.
Although he has yet to recapture his charmed 2021-22 run with the Warriors, where he emerged as the second-best player on a champion team, a two-way menace who helped befuddle Boston Celtics All-Star wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in the NBA Finals.
“What type of outgoing salary could that mean? They have a good chunk to combine Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, in the event that they do see someone they identify and want to go target and add,” Fischer added, ahead of the Lakers’ road rematch with the Utah Jazz on Sunday. “But I think at this point in time, 11-4, LeBron just came back, the Lakers are also going to be in a little bit of a wait-and-see mode, see what this group really looks like, see what the context is, before they really push their chips in and make some type of move.”
Hachimura, who’s easily the Lakers’ fourth- or fifth-best player alongside Deandre Ayton, has been a bit of an awkward fit on the club essentially since he arrived in town as part of a hilariously lopsided trade that sent Kendrick Nunn and three second-rounders to the Washington Wizards midway through the Lakers’ 2022-23 season.
Hachimura’s Fit with LeBron James
But Hachimura is at his best playing LeBron James’ position, power forward. He thrived there when James sat out the first 14 games of the year. Short-term, Wiggins might make more sense as a two-way fit next to James. Next year, though, James could depart as a restricted free agent.
Even if he wants to return to the Lakers, the fact that James’ representatives and LA’s front office failed to agree to a new deal beyond this season suggests that Los Angeles may be reticent to pay him the maximum deal he’ll surely want to stay. Hachimura has meshed well alongside Doncic and Reaves, and his age aligns better with their timeline than Wiggins’ does.
Vincent, though a solid perimeter defender, has been disappointing on the other end of the court since signing a three-year free agent deal with the Lakers in 2023.
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Adding Wiggins would, in large part, be done in an effort to hold off one particular rival in the Western Conference: the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Don’t get it twisted: no matter how well Denver has played, Houston has played, the Lakers have played, this is the Thunder and everyone else,” Fischer said. “That is the ultimate context and barometer for all these teams. How good can they be in comparison to OKC? I think that’s also a driving factor in why the Lakers have identified two-way wing as a role and a position that they could stand to benefit from, being that that’s what OKC is loaded with.”
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