Following the 2025 NBA Draft, the road is now wide open for teams to fully shift their focus toward free agency and the trade market. Unfortunately for the Philadelphia 76ers, one team is already looking to throw a curveball to a huge opportunity that just presented itself.
The 76ers have reportedly reconsidered their stance on Paul George and would now entertain the idea of trading him elsewhere according to some reports before the draft. No deal unfolded involving the nine-time All-Star, but the Heat actually gifted them a possible solution in Andrew Wiggins, who is widely believed to be to be available for taking.
However, that’s not going to be easy. Multiple outlets have already pointed to the Lakers looking at Wiggins as a trade target to complement LeBron James and Luka Doncic in Los Angeles, especially afetr a season where they were booted in the playoffs in just five games.
76ers could see a big opportunity get stolen from them as the Lakers eye Andrew Wiggins trade
As flawed as Wiggins is, he has proven himself to be a winning contributor to a team. He was arguably Golden State’s second-best player when they won the championship in 2022, although things went a bit south from there, leading to him getting shipped to Miami last season in the Jimmy Butler trade.
Wiggins, who is still one of the high-end three-and-D players in the league, would have been a perfect replacement for George while also costing much less. Miami could have been enticed to come to terms with a hypothetical Wiggins-George swap, especially after narrowly missing out on Kevin Durant.
The Heat are still on win-now mode, and George (when healthy) would have made a huge difference for them in ways that Wiggins cannot. On the flip side, Wiggins could be a better complementary piece than George due to his defensive aptitude and ability to be a factor on offense without needing the rock as much, which will be crucial given Philadelphia’s litany of shot creators.
Now, the 76ers appear way more likely to retain George out of circumstances. If Wiggins eventually finds himself in Los Angeles, that would constitute another missed opportunity that Philly allowed to happen.
To make matters worse, the Philadelphia 76ers have not even seriously considered parting with Paul George for Andrew Wiggins specifically, which will invite a lot of confused heads due to the franchise needing to recalibrate and open up more cap space to make meaningful moves this summer.