The Miami Heat haven't even made it to training camp, but they're already making noise on the NBA's trade rumor mill.
Or they're attached to some recent rumblings, at least. Per NBA insider Marc Stein, Heat swingman Andrew Wiggins has caught the attention of the Los Angeles Lakers, who "would have interest if the Heat, in coming weeks or months, decide to prioritize financial flexibility and look to reduce payroll."
This specific rumor lacks substance on the surface—the Heat have zero incentive to salary dump Wiggins—but it does hold one undeniable truth. If Miami hits the trade market at any point in the near future, Wiggins will almost certainly be involved in the deal.
Wiggins' salary and coveted skills make him the most likely trade candidate on the roster.
If the Heat are going to make a substantial trade, Wiggins is as good as gone. That's not because he lacks value to the team—if he returned to his attacking roots, he'd add an interesting dimension to this offense—but rather because he best balances the line of not being an essential keeper and still having enough skill to attract potential buyers.
Miami wouldn't be lost without Wiggins. The Heat's perimeter depth has expanded thanks to summer and EuroBasket breakouts, so clearing some congestion on the wing might have benefits beyond whatever they'd bring back in a deal. Wiggins, however, isn't a lost cause the way Terry Rozier seems to be, so he would have—and seemingly already has—suitors around the league.
Wiggins might be a touch overpaid at his $28.2 million salary, per Spotrac, but it's not by some egregious degree. He could be more consistent, sure, but he's a dogged point-of-attack defender, a capable support scorer, and, since the start of the 2020-21 season, an above-average three-point shooter (1.9 makes per game at a 38.1 percent clip).
He is somewhere in between a really high-end three-and-D wing and a player capable of serving as the third member of a Big Three (provided the first two are top-shelf elites). The Golden State Warriors wouldn't have won the 2021-22 title without his play at both ends.
So, again, theoretical suitors aren't hard to find. The question, of course, is what Miami would want in a Wiggins deal.
Only the front office truly knows the answer to that, but I'd venture to guess the target would be geared more toward long-term roster-building assets (in the form of draft picks, financial flexibility, or both), but there's also a universe in which he'd be packaged with some of Miami's top trade chips in an aggressive trade for an immediate difference-maker.
Remember, the Eastern Conference appears as wide open as ever, so the Heat aren't necessarily as removed from the title race as national pundits seem to think. If Tyler Herro retains his All-Star form, and Bam Adebayo gets back to his, it would only take so many leap years from the young core to put this team on a track toward something interesting. In that case, it might be go-big-or-go-home time on the trade front for this team.
Regardless of the specific path Miami chooses, though, its next big trade is likely one that reroutes Wiggins elsewhere.