The Lakers officially gave up pursuing Andrew Wiggins

On July 16, NBA reporter Dan Woike revealed the big news: The Lakers officially gave up pursuing Andrew Wiggins because the Heat insisted on asking for an exaggerated asking price of Knector + Hachimura + 1 first-round pick, while the Lakers were only willing to leave Hachimura + Knector or Hachimura + first-round pick, and the negotiations between the two sides were completely broken.

The Lakers tried to trade Wiggins twice, but Heat CEO Riley refused to give in and insisted on high-priced chips of 1 for 3. However, Lakers management believes that Wiggins is not worth the price at all.

Knector's market is also declining - this summer league, he averaged only 12.4 points, shooting percentage of 33.3%, and three-pointers 25%, which is a significant regression compared to last year (18 points, 36.7% shooting percentage). The Lakers still regard him as a potential stock, but other teams may not buy it.

Although Wiggins' contract (109 million in 4 years, expires in 2027) is in line with the Lakers' long-term plan, his competitive state is no longer as good as before:

2022 playoffs (Warriors' championship season): Average 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, shooting percentage 46.9%

2025 playoffs: Average 11.5 points, shooting percentage 37.2%, and 35% of three-pointers, more ironic is that Wiggins, who locked Tatum in the 2022 Finals, has only hit 27.3% when he faced Tatum in the last 5 times. The former "offense and defense" has now become an "inefficient scorer", so the Lakers naturally do not want to spend a lot of money to gamble.

The Heat used Wiggins to quote the Sun this summer, but was rejected by the Sun. Obviously, other teams in the league also have little interest in Wiggins.

Riley wanted to make a ruthless move when the Lakers urgently needed a wing defense, but Pelinka learned to be smart this time - she would rather keep Hachimura Shizuo (average 14 points, 38% of three-pointers) than be the sucker.

As Wiggins trade fails, the Lakers may turn to other targets, such as Seble and Dosem and other defensive players with higher cost performance. If the Heat cannot find the next home before training camp, Wiggins may be in his hands, after all, his trading value is still falling.

Heat want to take advantage of the situation to clear the contract, but the Lakers are unwilling to pay too much for players in the decline. Now that the transaction has failed, the Heat are likely to be able to keep Wiggins to start the new season, and the Lakers need to find another wing reinforcement plan. There is no winner in this game, but it once again confirms the cruel rules of the NBA: players' value is like sailing against the current, and if they are slacking off, they may become a champion and a marginal person in the trading market.