With Tyler Herro set to miss the first month of the season, it's pretty clear that the Miami Heat will work to keep Andrew Wiggins on the roster. All talk of a potential trade taking place before the season should be taken with a grain of salt.
The Heat don't tank, and even in a "gap" year, they're going to be attempting to win as many games as they can. That means, they're going to need Wiggins on the roster in an attempt to survive the first few weeks of the regular season without Herro.
Even though the Wiggins trade whispers have certainly grown over the last few weeks, it's pretty safe to put them to bed now.
Knowing how the Heat operates and that they're going to try and make the playoffs this season, Wiggins is not going anywhere. At least, not for now. There's a chance that could change depending on how the season unravels for the Heat, but it'd be extremely surprising to see a Wiggins trade before the start of the regular season.
Andrew Wiggins could be a quiet key to success for the Heat
Heading into his first full season with the Heat, there's reason to believe that Wiggins could be a huge key to success for the Heat this season. Sure, it's going to be a struggle with Herro set to miss the first month of the season, but if they can somehow survive that, Wiggins could emerge as a key third or fourth option for the team.
And if he can return to how he looked for the Heat during the month of March, before his late-season injury, he could be an overlooked anchor for this team.
With so many questions surrounding this team heading into the start of training camp, Wiggins needs to be that consistent veteran the Heat were hoping he'd be when they acquired him ahead of last year's NBA Trade Deadline.
Wiggins may have had a disappointing end to his first season with the Heat, but the hope is that most of that was due to a lingering injury. Now that he's had a full offseason in Miami and seemingly fully healthy, the hope is that Wiggins will be able to bounce back in a big way.
Playing with a chip on his shoulder, he could be the two-way difference-maker that the Heat will end if they're going to be a surprise team in the Eastern Conference.
Wiggins is not going to be traded anytime soon. The injury to Herro all but cemented that. At least for now, he's more valuable on the Heat than he would be traded to another team. That could change later this season, but for now, Heat fans should expect Wiggins in the starting lineup on opening night.