After departing the Golden State Warriors in the blockbuster Jimmy Butler deal in February, veteran forward Andrew Wiggins has once again found himself in trade speculation early this offseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers, in particular, have been linked to a trade for the 2022 All-Star, but it appears that the Heat could be set for a move on Wiggins that may play beautifully into the Warriors favor.
The Heat could gift the Warriors their ideal Jonathan Kuminga outcome
Despite all the speculation, it appears that Miami are going to keep Wiggins throughout the summer and see how they begin next season. The Heat just traded for L.A. Clippers guard Norman Powell, giving them more offensive firepower alongside Wiggins, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
“The expectation is the Heat will move forward with Andrew Wiggins on its roster for the start of next season. The Heat wants to see what this mix will look like,” Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald wrote over the weekend.
Wiggins remaining with the Heat for the meantime could be excellent news for the Warriors, potentially allowing them to explore a mid-season move to reunite with the 2022 NBA champion.
The further the offseason goes, the more likely it appears that Golden State will bring back young forward Jonathan Kuminga on a new contract. However, that may prove a short-term arrangement where the Warriors reconsider a trade before the mid-season deadline.
Base-year compensation rules mean Golden State can only take back 50% of Kuminga’s salary right now, but that will change mid-season which will allow for a far greater range of potential trade targets.
That list could include Wiggins, with speculation last month of a potential Kuminga-for-Wiggins sign-and-trade given the Heat’s reported interest in the former seventh overall pick. Again, making that move right now is practically impossible, but would become more realistic mid-season were both teams interested.
There’s little doubt that the Warriors would flip Kuminga for Wiggins right now if they could, with the former No. 1 overall pick well suited to being a third option behind Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler as a valuable 3-and-D piece.
Wiggins averaged 19.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in his 17 regular season games with Miami, shooting 45.8% from the floor and 36% from 3-point range. If the 30-year-old is still on the Heat and available ahead of next year’s deadline, that could prove the perfect path for the Warriors to finally move on from the Kuminga situation.
