Urgent! Lakers are pressuring the Heat! Speeding up the trade for the NBA championship forward

Have you talked with Rui Hachimura about a contract renewal? Lakers GM Pelinka said: We are very confident in him.

Lakers reporter Buha speculated on this:The Purple and Gold are leveraging the contract extension of Hachimura to push the Heat to expedite trading Wiggins.

According to the rules, if the Lakers finalize an extension with Hachimura now, he cannot be traded for at least six months (until the trade deadline on February 6 next year), meaning the Heat would have to carry Wiggins’ contract for another year. Of course, the Heat could also trade Wiggins without demanding Hachimura in return from the Lakers.

Wiggins’ current contract expires in summer 2027, with salaries of $28.22 million and $30.17 million for the next two seasons; Hachimura’s contract ends next summer, with a $18.26 million salary for the 2025-26 season.

From a contract perspective, Hachimura is indeed the most suitable asset for the Lakers to trade for Wiggins from the Heat.

Earlier, some American media suggested the Lakers send Hachimura + Kendrick + a first-round pick to the Heat in exchange for Wiggins, forming a three-star forward lineup with Doncic & James.

Last season, Hachimura secured a starting spot, averaging 13.1 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in the regular season, with shooting percentages of 50.9% and 41.3%; in the playoffs, he averaged 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1 assist, shooting 49.1% and 48.4%.

His performance has been noteworthy, but the Lakers currently need a wing player who excels on both offense and defense, and Wiggins clearly fits that role better.

Looking at the predicted Lakers’ starting five for the new season shown below, their offense is fully capable but defensive weaknesses are very apparent. As the saying goes, offense wins the crowd, defense wins championships; both are essential.

In fact, Wiggins (30 years old) is better than Hachimura (27 years old) in almost every aspect, both offensively and defensively. He also experienced high-level competition as a core forward during the Warriors’ 2022 championship run. His only downside is being three years older.

Traded from the Warriors to the Heat mid-2024-25 season, Wiggins has averaged 19 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1 block per game in the regular season, shooting 45.8% and 36%; in the playoffs, he averaged 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, shooting 37.2% and 35%.