With the new NBA season fast approaching, the Los Angeles Lakers are working to build a competitive roster around LeBron James and Luka Doncic in hopes of making a serious championship run. One of their reported targets has been Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, but it appears Pat Riley and the Heat front office have already made their decision.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, despite the Lakers exploring the possibility of acquiring the former No. 1 overall pick this offseason, Miami has no plans to trade Wiggins before the 2025–26 season.
“At this time, Miami holds no desire to trade Wiggins before the 2025-26 season, and they are operating under the mindset of evaluating his production and fit before the trade deadline,” Siegel reported, noting the Heat will wait to see how Wiggins performs to start the season before considering any moves.
Wiggins is also expected to take on a larger role with the Heat after The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang reported that Tyler Herro will miss the start of the season as he recovers from surgery on his left foot and ankle.
Lakers open to more moves after Doncic’s EuroBasket performance
Doncic’s Slovenia was eliminated in the EuroBasket quarterfinals after a 99–91 loss to Germany, but the Lakers star still turned heads with his dominant play throughout the tournament. He led his national team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and minutes played.
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Lakers star Luka Doncic makes history with Slovenian team at the 2025 EuroBasket
The former Mavericks guard finished the competition averaging 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 2.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks in 33.3 minutes per game — one of the most impressive stat lines in recent international play.
That performance has Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka motivated to further strengthen the roster around Doncic and LeBron James. “Luka’s play in EuroBasket made it clear to the entire basketball world that he’s on that incredibly short list of ‘best player on the planet’ candidates, if not at the top,” Pelinka told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“In terms of team building, we’ve talked about the importance of having optionality. And when I use that word, it’s not to say in the future. I think optionality is also in the now. Having both Luka as arguably the best player on the planet and LeBron James, who is still in the mix of being one of the great players in our game, even at his age, continues to allow us to think carefully about the value of that optionality,” he added.
