The Los Angeles Lakers have had somewhat of a busy offseason this summer, re-signing Luka Doncic on a new contract to remain the face of the franchise for years to come and bringing in some savvy buyout market additions in Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton. It's all been a part of a larger effort to surround Doncic and LeBron James with all of the talent they need to turn Los Angeles back into a contender for the first time in several years.
One name the Lakers, and other teams, have had reported interest in is Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, who was traded to Miami by the Golden State Warriors last year as a part of the Jimmy Butler trade.
However, recently, ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reported that Miami has no desire to part with Wiggins ahead of the season, and now, one NBA executive is speaking on how James' past relationship with Heat team owner Pat Riley could throw a wrench in any potential trade talks.
“I would be stunned if Pat did this trade,” the executive said, per Ashish Mathur of Lakers Daily. “You really think Pat wants to help LeBron [James]? He’s still mad about LeBron leaving Miami. I don’t see it happening.”
Indeed, James left Riley and the Heat behind back in 2014 when he took his talents from South Beach back to Cleveland.
An intriguing idea for the Lakers
In theory, Andrew Wiggins would make a lot of sense on the Lakers.
Los Angeles doesn't have a lot of wing depth or perimeter defense, especially after Dorian Finney-Smith bolted for the Houston Rockets this offseason, and they'd certainly like to have another competent 3 and D player to help give LeBron James some extra rest.
However, as is normally the case, the Heat seem to see themselves in a higher light than the rest of the world does, and so it appears they aren't going to embrace the rebuild so many fans have been clammoring for anytime soon, even after news of Tyler Herro's recent injury that will cause him to miss the opening chunk of the season.
