{"id":150357,"date":"2025-07-14T21:23:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T01:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=150357"},"modified":"2025-07-14T21:23:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T01:23:40","slug":"lakers-no-longer-interested-andrew-wiggins-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/14\/lakers-no-longer-interested-andrew-wiggins-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers No Longer Interested in High-Profile Trade Target"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the offseason trade front hitting the inevitable lull, some Lakers fans may have held out hope for another blockbuster deal. However, one insider says they can pump the brakes on any rumors surrounding an Eastern Conference standout.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lakers No Longer Interested in High-Profile Trade Target<\/b><\/h2>\n

Woike Shuts Down Lakers-Heat Talks<\/b><\/h3>\n

In a Monday interview on <\/span>\u201cThe Zach Lowe Show,\u201d<\/span><\/a> Lakers beat writer Dan Woike revealed the team has no interest in Miami Heat forward <\/span>Andrew Wiggins<\/span><\/a>, who was <\/span>previously linked to the purple and gold<\/span><\/a> leading up to free agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Lowe said he \u201cdidn\u2019t understand\u201d why the Lakers \u201csniffed around Wiggins,\u201d Woike <\/span>replied<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThey\u2019re not interested in Andrew Wiggins. I think I can put that to bed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After arriving in Miami at the trade deadline, Wiggins averaged 19.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a block on .458\/.360\/.731 splits. The 2022 NBA champion is set to make $28 million next season before a $30 million player option in 2026-27\u2014an offseason the Lakers are <\/span>hoping to clear the books for<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The negotiations around Wiggins stalled when <\/span>Miami reportedly asked for<\/span><\/a> Rui Hachimura<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Dalton Knecht<\/span><\/a> and a first-round pick, according to team insider Jovan Buha. Hachimura holds high acclaim among Lakers executives and fans alike, while Knecht has found his groove in this year\u2019s <\/span>NBA Summer League<\/span><\/a>. LA\u2019s 2031 first-round pick, meanwhile, remains one of their most valuable assets in terms of draft capital. Only next offseason will they have access to <\/span>tradable first-rounders in 2026 and 2033<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Wiggins would fit well in a position of need, it’s a blessing in disguise that trade talks fell through. Now, the Lakers will be able to develop the talent around <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a>, who have a full summer to gel ahead of a critical 2025-26 campaign. Hachimura and Knecht became integral parts of head coach JJ Redick\u2019s rotation, and they\u2019ll each be able to showcase their growth and iron out their fit alongside LA\u2019s superstars next season.<\/span><\/p>\n

No Wiggins Trade; What\u2019s Next?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Even with the Lakers holding off on trading for Wiggins, many suspect their free agent signings won’t be the last dominoes to fall. LA still has three players on expiring contracts, and fans would rather see one of them leave now instead of waiting to deal at the deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Apr
Apr 18, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) dunks behind Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last week, <\/span>ClutchPoints\u2019 Brett Siegel noted<\/span><\/a> the Lakers were \u201cactively looking for a new defensive player on the perimeter\/wing,\u201d adding: \u201cI\u2019d expect them to make a trade for one by the end of the month.\u201d Fans should not get their hopes up with that last statement, but the Lakers still have a chance to wake up a recently dormant trade market.<\/span><\/p>\n

Siegel added it\u2019s <\/span>\u201cworth keeping an eye on Portland\u201d<\/span><\/a> as a possible trade partner, citing the \u201cstrong relationship\u201d between Lakers president Rob Pelinka and Portland GM Joe Cronin. One Blazer previously <\/span>mentioned<\/span><\/a> as a trade target? <\/span>Matisse Thybulle<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A two-time All-Defensive Second Team selection, Thybulle would be a worthy addition to the Lakers. The 28-year-old recently averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals while shooting 43% from deep. Although he missed most of last season due to <\/span>knee and ankle ailments<\/span><\/a>, he\u2019s one of several promising names the team could consider for guard\/wing depth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Lakers\u2019 lack of interest in Wiggins should not signal that their offseason is over. The front office has a knack for keeping things close to the vest, and there\u2019s still a chance this roster could change between now and September training camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the offseason trade front hitting the inevitable lull, some Lakers fans may have held out hope for another blockbuster deal. However, one insider says they can pump the brakes on any rumors surrounding an Eastern Conference standout. Lakers No Longer Interested in High-Profile Trade Target Woike Shuts Down Lakers-Heat Talks In a Monday interview […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":150367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,16,62,3,4721],"tags":[212,49212,38,1133,1963,1749],"class_list":["post-150357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-heat","category-nba","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-andrew-wiggins","tag-dalton-knecht","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-matisse-thybulle","tag-rui-hachimura"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150357"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150368,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150357\/revisions\/150368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}