NBA Trade Rumors: Heat Dangle Andrew Wiggins For Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura Package From Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in trading for Miami forward Andrew Wiggins. However, the Heat are playing hardball and have revealed their ridiculous asking price for the former first-overall pick. Miami wants a first-round pick, Dalton Knecht, and Rui Hachimura.
The Miami Heat are reportedly seeking a first-round pick, Dalton Knecht, and Rui Hachimura from the Lakers in trade talks centered around Andrew Wiggins, per @jovanbuha
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 3, 2025
(h/t @dru_star ) pic.twitter.com/AT6jBZ5SJP
This is a steep asking price for a player like Wiggins that the Lakers are unlikely to accept. The asking price was fist reported by Lakers reporter Jovan Buha, who also thinks this is an outrageous demand for Wiggins.
"I don't think the Lakers are trading Rui, a first-rounder, and Dalton [Knecht] for Andrew Wiggins. It's not fair value. It's not a realistic trade. I think Miami's playing hardball, and we'll see if they soften their stance," Buha said.
This deal has a lot of links to LeBron James. Wiggins was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers just before ultimately being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love after the King returned home to Cleveland. So this duo had a chance to play together once before. Of course, LeBron also won multiple championships and MVPs while playing for the Heat before beating them for a championship in 2020 with the Lakers.
Let's take a look at how this trade would work out.
Lakers - Heat Mock Trade
Los Angeles Lakers Receive
Andrew Wiggins
Miami Heat Receive
Rui Hachimura
Dalton Knecht
First-Round Pick
Why The Trade Makes Sense for the Lakers
The upside here is you're adding a very good wing player and a great defender with championship experience. However, the sticking point here is Hachimura. Wiggins isn't such an upgrade that it warrants also adding a young shooter like Knecht and a first-rounder to the deal. The Heat will have to lower their asking price if this deal is going to get done unless Rob Pelinka gets desperate and pulls the trigger.
Why The Trade Makes Sense for the Heat
They would be losing the best player in the deal, but would get compensated more than fairly. Rui is an impressive power forward who posted a stat line of 13.1 - 5 - 1.4 last season, with room to improve if not on a team with two of the most ball-dominant players in the league. Wiggins was better, but his line of 19 - 4.2 - 3.3 isn't blowing Hachimura away by any means. Then they also get a shooter to build around and a first-rounder for the future. Rui is also just 27 compared to Wiggins, who is now 30.
Fantasy Basketball Impact
We would expect Hachimura and Knecht to both be much more relevant in Miami, especially long term. Rui would be a much more important piece in that offense after playing with LeBron, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves, while Knecht is exactly the type of player Erik Spoelstra likes to deploy as a marksman from the corner.
As far as Wiggins goes, his numbers would likely take a hit. His impact would show up a lot more on the court than in the box score. It's likely his role would become more focused on defense with the occasional 20-point game on offense.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
feed
-0e06b43c57ceb063781f337e307e72d4.png "Mark Morales-Smith")
Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites, including Sports Illustrated, FullTime Fantasy, FantasySP, and more.