If there's one bold move the Miami Heat ends up making at the NBA Trade Deadline, it should revolve around trading Andrew Wiggins. The Heat desperately needs to do whatever it takes to cash in on this veteran asset and avoid risking him for nothing during the offseason.
Wiggins has a player option for next season that he's almost certainly going to decline in favor of long-term security. If Miami knows this, they need to explore trading him in the next two weeks for some sort of asset for the future.
No matter what ends up happening on the Giannis Antetokounmpo front, which the Heat are clearly keeping a close eye on, Wiggins should be next on the team's priority list. If the Heat already knows they're not going to be able to re-sign him if he were to opt out, trading him for an asset at the deadline makes much more sense.
The Heat, Andrew Wiggins' future is taking different paths
At this point in his career, you'd have to assume that Wiggins is looking for one more big payday. Or, at the very least, some sort of long-term security in a contract. He's also looking to play for a contender. The Heat has many more questions and uncertainties in its future than Wiggins. That's just one reason why the two may be moving in opposite directions.
Even if the Heat believes they're closer to contention than the general public does, it's hard to envision how they can afford to give Wiggins the big extension he's likely going to be seeking. Unless, of course, it's Wiggins whom the Heat decides to keep over Norman Powell and Tyler Herro.
But that does seem like an extremely unlikely scenario.
There's no logical pathway in which the Heat can pay Bam Adebayo, Herro, Powell, and Wiggins. That's not happening. It's just not reasonable.
In fact, I'd take it a step further. That's malpractice.
The Heat can't retain this entire roster with how inconsistent they've been this season. Plus, if the Heat's front office is truly looking to maintain as much cap flexibility as possible, this is not a scenario that makes much sense either.
So, unless something drastically changes between now and the NBA Trade Deadline, Wiggins' future with the Heat is far more blurry than most are willing to admit. And with as many questions about their future as there currently are, the Heat can't afford to commit long-term money to Wiggins.
As difficult as it may be, the Heat almost have to trade Wiggins ahead of the trade deadline before they seriously risk losing him for nothing during the offseason. Because that would truly be an epic failure on the front office's behalf.