There are nearly two months to go before the start of training camp for the 2025-26 NBA season. According to conventional wisdom, significant trades rarely happen during the second half of the summer, but in recent years, such deals have taken place involving stars such as Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a strong roster right now, but most would agree that they’re one or two complementary players short of being a true championship contender. Earlier this summer, there were rumors that they were trying to trade for veteran two-way forward Andrew Wiggins, but those rumors quickly died out.
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Podcaster Jason Timpf said on a recent episode of “Hoops Tonight” that landing Wiggins, who was an All-Star starter just three years ago, would make the Lakers an elite team.
“I do think an Andrew Wiggins trade would immediately make the Lakers a top-tier contender. He would immediately address their athleticism and defense needs.
“He specifically, in my opinion, is one of the top tier, if not second, or second tier to top tier, somewhere in that range — one of the top 10 apex defenders that you could put on an opposing star in a playoff series, and he can do it against multiple different types of stars.
“I also think he just makes a substantial upgrade in athleticism, which is what they would need. I also think he would play really well offensively off of Luka.
“And I think the Lakers could pull off that trade, including Dalton [Knecht] and maybe some second-round compensation and not having to include their first-round pick.”
Wiggins, 29, was a major contributor to the Golden State Warriors when they won the NBA championship in 2022. He was traded to the Miami Heat midway through this past season in the deal that brought Golden State Jimmy Butler, and he doesn’t fit the Heat’s rebuilding plans.
But Timpf doesn’t think the Lakers would actually make a trade for Wiggins, even if the price is right.
“But the Lakers seem uninterested in making that type of deal because of Andrew’s age and because of their timeline.”
Plenty think the Lakers are saving salary cap space in order to chase after Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokić either next summer or during the 2027 offseason. Depending on whether they’re indeed looking to seriously go after either superstar and the degree of such a pursuit, they may refuse to take on any additional salary for the next year or two, even though Wiggins has a player option for the 2026-27 season.
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The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 18.0 points and 5.8 3-point attempts a game while making 37.4% from 3-point range this past season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Jason Timpf says Andrew Wiggins would make the Lakers an elite team