Heat forward Andrew Wiggins was linked to the Lakers earlier in the offseason as a potential trade candidate, but Dan Woike of The Athletic suggested during an appearance on The Zach Lowe Show podcast (YouTube link) that he’s not anticipating Wiggins to be sent to Los Angeles.
“(The Lakers) are not interested in Andrew Wiggins,” Woike said when Lowe brought up the subject (hat tip to HoopsHype). “I think I can put that to bed. I’m pretty confident on that front.”
Those aforementioned reports on the Lakers’ apparent interest in Wiggins suggested that the Heat would be seeking Dalton Knecht or a first-round pick in addition to Rui Hachimura‘s expiring contract. As Lowe observes, the idea that L.A. would entertain that asking price never made all that much sense, given that Wiggins is coming off an up-and-down season in which both his teams (Golden State and Miami) were better when he was off the court than when he was on it.
“I didn’t understand those rumors,” Lowe said. “They were suddenly giving up a lot of s–t for Andrew Wiggins. Like, is Rui Hachimura just as good as Andrew Wiggins? Why am I adding a lot more to that?”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Former first-round pick Darius Bazley spoke to Matthew Valento of Lakers Nation about playing for the Lakers‘ Summer League team in an effort to “revamp” his career. The 25-year-old forward/center averaged 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in three California Classic outings and averaged a double-double (10.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG) through his first two games in Las Vegas before struggling on Monday, with just one point and four rebounds in 22 minutes.
- Kings star Zach LaVine is enthusiastic about what newly signed point guard Dennis Schröder will bring to the team next season, as Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee relays. “Me and DeMar (DeRozan) have a track record for being able to put the ball in the basket and do the things on the court that we need to,” LaVine said. “But I think we need an overall team concept to where everything’s working the right way. Sometimes roster construction helps out a lot with that. So having Dennis, a veteran point guard who’s been in a lot of places, can come off the bench, has started. He can calm things down. He’s been in pressure situations. I think it’s going to help a lot.”
- After making just 2-of-14 shots in his first Las Vegas Summer League game on Thursday, second-year Kings guard Devin Carter has bounced back admirably in what could be a trade showcase. As Jason Anderson details in a pair of stories for The Sacramento Bee, Carter led the Kings to a victory over Chicago on Saturday with 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting, then racked up another 17 points and three steals in a Monday win over Phoenix.
- New Suns two-way player Isaiah Livers spoke on Sunday about his long journey back to the NBA following a reshaping procedure on his right hip, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “They said I was probably playing on it for about a year, straight bone on bone,” Livers said of his hip injury. “It just kept getting worse and worse. I tried to go to L.A. last summer and do conservative rehab. We found out we got to do this special surgery. I was very upset. … (But now) I kind of feel like a whole new player, to be honest.”
DC shows he can Play big, against College Players, but has shown ZERO at the Pro Lvl !! Trade him !!
link to m.youtube.com
Great video, but that 3 ball is fugley.
He’s just a young guy so he can work on it and he’s got the athleticism so I’m sure he’s going to be better this year than he was last year.
What was he supposed to show in half a season coming off of shoulder surgery? And there’s no sense in trading him right now since his stock doesn’t seem to be very high.
Another issue is he’s seemingly being miscast as a backup pg and that was always an iffy proposition coming out of the draft. He was always more projectable as a two who could be a secondary creator, play strong defense, and shoot well enough. The defense looks fine, the shot may be coming around (still has work to do there), and he still needs to show more as a playmaker, particularly with his decision-making.
But since the Kings figure to be going nowhere this season and have higher priority guys to move first (DeMar), might as well give him some minutes and see what happens.
Lakers trying to hide Bazley is hilarious like its 1958
He’s looked like the best defender in all of summer league, lotta crazy sporadic energy out here so it makes it tough to gauge how true NBA talent will crossover but its wildly apparent he has above avg NBA D skills to date. I think he finds a spot in the league by months end (probably not LAL )
Dont be shady Lakes, let the man get his full burn the last game (and possible Vegas playoffs if they qualify with a win on Thurs)
If the lakers were going to get Wiggins that would be a midseason trade if their defense is real bad. His defense is still great.
Need point guards, here’s an idea, let’s trade Devin Carter
MIA is channeling their inner Morey. Forcefully turning down trade offers that were never made.
If the LAL make another deal this off season, chances are it will be consistent with the reset plan they’ve adhered to so far; and thus either nets out positive or at least break even by 2027-2028. Wiggins wouldn’t warrant dealing future assets.
Wiggans, after he got his big deal and quit trying, has always had neg value.