The Los Angeles Lakers have deeper pockets than ever, and that means they will likely be very active on the trade market.
Following a 2025 playoff humiliation, the Buss family has finally handed over the keys to the Los Angeles Lakers. LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter has purchased the franchise for a valuation of $10bn.
With Walter taking over the team, many changes are expected to be implemented for the Lakers at the front office level. Those changes could help the Lakers in pursuing key trade targets this offseason.
Among those targets is none other than Miami Heat star Andrew Wiggins, who reportedly checks a lot of boxes for the LA Lakers.
With that said, NBA Analysis Network presents a hypothetical trade that helps the Lakers in acquiring Wiggins without giving up Austin Reaves.
- Los Angeles Lakers receive: Andrew Wiggins
- Miami Heat receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, 2031 first-round draft pick
There’s no doubt that Luka Doncic and LeBron James are the most important players on the roster right now. The duo’s form is instrumental to the Lakers potentially winning an NBA championship next season.
However, due to a poor 2025 playoff performance, many have forgotten that Austin Reaves is crucial to the Purple and Gold as well. After all, Reaves proved that he can be the No. 1 scoring option for the team on any given night.
So, in this proposed trade, the Lakers keep their trio intact as they acquire Wiggins by parting ways with Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent.
Adding a draft pick may look like overkill, but keeping the recent Desmond Bane trade in mind, it’s unlikely the Heat would accept any offer without draft compensation.
Wiggins averaged 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game in the 2024-25 season. While he struggled somewhat with the Golden State Warriors, Wiggins hit his stride after getting traded to the Heat.
If the Lakers trade for him, the 30-year-old can impact the game on both ends as he did for the Warriors during their 2022 NBA Championship run. If the Lakers and Heat go through with this trade, here’s what the former’s depth chart could look like.
Proposed LA Lakers depth chart:
| Starting Five | Bench |
| Luka Doncic | Jordan Goodwin |
| Austin Reaves | Dalton Knecht |
| Andrew Wiggins | Jarred Vanderbilt |
| LeBron James | Dorian Finney-Smith |
| Jaxson Hayes | Maxi Kleber |
While trading for Wiggins will undoubtedly improve the team’s starting five, the organization would still need a quality center for this lineup to work.
After all, it’s evident that head coach JJ Redick doesn’t trust Jaxson Hayes as the team’s starting center. Moreover, Hayes is rumored to be on his way out in the offseason.
They are reportedly in trade talks with the Utah Jazz to acquire John Collins, but the 27-year-old hasn’t played as a center ever.
It would likely lead to a similar problem that Anthony Davis faced before getting traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers could solve their longstanding center problem by acquiring Walker Kessler. On the other hand, they could try their luck with Warriors’ Kevon Looney, who is rumored to be on his way out of Golden State this offseason.
