After this past season? Ain’t no way. Led his team to the best record & the title, regular & Finals MVP. That’s checkmate.

SGA is the MVP for the league and the NBA Finals. Luka has to do the de-throning, nobody giving anything away these days except for bad advise lol.

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly eyeing Andrew Wiggins and will make a play ‘if the price is right’(via The Athletic) pic.twitter.com/gYoRj9W2rP— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) September 11, 2025

From Eric Pincus above article:

The Los Angeles Lakers recently extended Luka Dončić, while hesitating to give LeBron James a similar commitment.

Instead, James opted into his contract for a final year, potentially giving the franchise significant spending power in the summer of 2026.

Several competing executives and agents were given the impression the Lakers had chosen to prioritize cap flexibility over trades that would yield players on multi-year deals. On Monday, Marc Stein noted the plan may have changed.

He wrote: “The Lakers’ reluctance in the early stages of the offseason to consider trades for contracts that stretch beyond the 2025-26 season has thawed somewhat.” Stein identified Andrew Wiggins as a potential target, should Miami make him available.

Given Wiggins’ $28.2 million salary this season (along with a $30.2 million player option for 2026-27), what would be a viable theoretical trade between the Lakers and Heat?

The following is a three-team idea, bringing in the Brooklyn Nets for tax and apron flexibility, sending Wiggins from Miami to Los Angeles.

Full Trade Scenario

Lakers get:

-Andrew Wiggins (from Heat)
-Jaime Jaquez Jr. (from Heat)
-Drew Timme (from Nets)

Heat get:

-Rui Hachimura (from Lakers)
-Dalton Knecht (from Lakers)
-$10 million trade exception (Wiggins)

Nets get:

-Maxi Kleber (from Lakers)
-2026 protected Brooklyn second-rounder (from Heat)
-$4.6 million (from Nets)
-$2 million (from Lakers)

Notes: The Lakers aggregate Hachimura, Knecht, and Kleber to acquire Wiggins and Jaquez, while Brooklyn uses cap room to absorb Kleber’s salary.

Miami gets Knecht via the Jimmy Butler trade exception (leaving a $3.8 million balance), although the team could choose to use its Haywood Highsmith exception instead. Timme, on a minimum contract, remains non-guaranteed on L.A.’s books.

The 2026 second-rounder is a token gesture, with Miami returning the Nets’ pick (which was never likely to convey with top-55 protection).

Why the Los Angeles Lakers Do It

Using Stein’s logic that the Lakers are willing to take on a longer salary, Wiggins only has one year left after this coming season.

If he fits well, he could opt out and re-sign on a lower but longer annual deal. Or Los Angeles could use his expiring contract in a future deal.

From a basketball perspective, the 30-year-old would step in as the team’s best perimeter defender. At 6’7″, he’d fill the role left by the departure of Dorian Finney-Smith.

Hachimura had some success against bigger players such as Nikola Jokić (though not enough for the Lakers to win a series over the Denver Nuggets). Still, he’s not especially mobile enough to stick with attacking guards and wings.

Wiggins averaged 18 points per game last year, splitting time between the Golden State Warriors and the Heat. He shot 37.4 percent from three-point range (on 2.2 attempts) through 60 appearances.

Hachimura played in 59 games for the Lakers, averaging 13.1 points on 41.3 percent from behind the arc (4.2 attempts). The argument would be improved defense from Wiggins, with a small sacrifice in shooting.

Knecht may not have a key rotation role with the team this season, especially after the free-agent signing of Jake LaRavia and draft acquisition of Adou Thiero.

Los Angeles missed out on Jaquez (No. 18) in the 2023 draft to select Jalen Hood-Schifino (No. 17). Jaquez was one of the top rookies that year, while Hood-Schifino is not currently in the league.

Jaquez struggled as a sophomore in Miami, and the Lakers get the chance to see if the UCLA product can revitalize his game alongside stars like James and Dončić.

Timme could fill the last required standard roster spot (14th), or the team could sign a veteran on a minimum contract while staying under its first-apron hard cap at $195.9 million. Kleber and cash make the rest of the deal feasible.

Why the Miami Heat Do It

Miami was able to get under the league’s luxury-tax threshold ($187.9 million) by trading Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets. Still, camp invite Ethan Thompson has the team slightly over that line.

Assuming the Heat cut Thompson before opening night, they will need to wait until mid-December to add a 15th standard contract to avoid the tax.

Per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Miami has been in contact with Precious Achiuwa. Getting out of Wiggins would not only clear $30.1 million from next year’s books but also put the team well under the tax threshold to add Achiuwa.

The Heat would gain flexibility for additional moves at approximately $9.3 million below the tax threshold.

Hachimura, who is on an expiring deal, is eligible for an extension if he proves to be a strong fit. He’s a better shooter than Wiggins, and more of a natural power forward (often playing out of position for the Lakers).

Knecht is also a shooting upgrade over Jaquez. Neither was outstanding last year, but the former has a longer runway on his contract, going into his second season.

The second-round pick is immaterial, and the cash is the vehicle to reroute Kleber to Brooklyn, instead of eating Miami’s immediate tax savings.

Why the Brooklyn Nets Do It

The Nets recently made official deals with Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Ziaire Williams. Their payroll has climbed to $138.8 million for 20 players (including two of the three eligible two-way contracts).

The league minimum for each team this season is $139.2 million, a figure Brooklyn needs to reach by opening night.

Still, the 15-man standard contract limit means the Nets must cut (or trade) at least three players. If that’s Keon Johnson, Tyrese Martin, and Drew Timme, the team would only incur about $272,000 in dead money for Johnson’s partially guaranteed deal, dropping the team’s salary to $132.3 million (about $6.9 million short of the minimum required). Martin and Timme are non-guaranteed.

The Nets are required to spend that money before then. The question is how. In this deal, the team goes past that mark with Kleber by about $4.1 million. The Heat and Lakers combine to pay Brooklyn $6.6 million, yielding a $2.5 million profit.

Kleber, 33, wouldn’t make the Nets roster, hitting free agency, perhaps to join a team looking for an experienced veteran later in the season or even heading overseas to continue his career.

It’s a money move for Brooklyn, not a basketball deal. Timme is the only outgoing player, but he’s facing an uphill battle to make the team, given the already full roster.

Starting to smell the smoke and see the fire.
This is going to be damning for the Clippers.

But to me, Kawhi should also go down and
be punished. Can’t let him re-sign and win a ring.

Mother s/b banned for at least a year.

In 2022 Kawhi Leonard played in 26% of games due to “right knee stiffness” before the reported $1.75M delayed payment was made by Aspiration The day after it was deposited, Leonard went on to play 82% of the Clippers total games to close out the season (Via @APH00PS) pic.twitter.com/2ENcnLrPyr— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) September 11, 2025

The thought I keep coming back to on the Kawhi scandal:If everything Pablo Torre has reported isn't enough to warrant a substantial punishment, that means cap circumvention is basically unprovable. And if that's the case, I imagine that emboldens other bad actors to circumvent.— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) September 11, 2025

Here’s the thing: you have to somehow provide a smoking gun that Ballmer knew his money would go to Kawhi. The fact that the business caved soon thereafter gives him some form of cover, now matter how BS we all think it may be (is), because for all anyone knows he was just investing in something and no knowledge his money might have redirected to one of his players.

Here’s another wrinkle: what if Ballmer isn’t the only owner who invested in this thing? What if it comes out Matt Ishiba, for example, also floated them 20 mil or whatever but none of his players are listed? There’s nothing that I can see in the CBA that precludes owners from investing in anything they want.

This is going to be a messy, slippery slope for everyone. NBA has some work to do here.

"I've spoken to multiple team strategists, for example, who told me, with chests puffed, that if the Clippers aren't docked multiple first-round picks — if Leonard's contract isn't voided while his salary obligations remain on the Clippers' books — they will feel emboldened to…— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) September 11, 2025

Windy:"These revelations that came out today had substantially less plausible deniability because of the amounts, because of the relationships involved. This one is going to be harder to explain…this probably will widen the scope of the investigation" https://t.co/CiUShvcuuf pic.twitter.com/x9YbxDJEpw— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) September 11, 2025

From above article:

After he was done venting his frustration with the foul trouble that had kept him out of rhythm on defense and limited some of his aggressiveness on offense, Luka Dončić walked off the court in Riga, Latvia, and into the first moments of anything that actually looks like an offseason.

“Proud,” he posted on a picture of his Slovenian national teammates — a group few around EuroBasket believed could advance to the final eight, where they pushed undefeated Germany to the brink before losing 99-91 on Wednesday.

Now, at least for a second, Dončić can exhale.

Dončić almost immediately began working on changing his body and committing to a strict diet and fitness routine shortly after his first stretch with the Los Angeles Lakers ended with a first-round playoff loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He returned to the U.S. to show off the progress and to sign a three-year extension worth an estimated $165 million with the Lakers.

After a week full of interviews, appearances and commercial shoots, it was obvious Dončić can’t wait to get back on the court.

Now, after a dominant run leading Slovenia at EuroBasket, Dončić can turn his attention to the Lakers. And, after the way Dončić looked for his national team, the Lakers can turn even more attention toward him.

According to team and league sources, the Lakers’ stance on roster improvements heading into this season has shifted because of the start of this new chapter together.

While the Lakers had resisted scenarios in which the team would take on contracts that lasted beyond the 2025-26 season earlier this summer, Dončić’s multi-year commitment has nudged LA’s priorities in more aggressive directions.

One area the team is focused on is upgrading the wing, where it needs more two-way talent. A player like Miami’s Andrew Wiggins, whom the Lakers weren’t interested in earlier this summer, is now a more desirable player, provided the price is right.

Wiggins, who turns 31 in February, is due $28.2 million this year and has a player option for $30.1 million for 2026-27. Marc Stein linked the Lakers and Wiggins in his newsletter earlier this week.

The Lakers still value their lone tradeable first-round pick, either in 2031 or 2032, as a piece earmarked for a much bigger move in the future. However, they have a mixture of expiring contracts and a former first-round pick in Dalton Knecht that could be packaged together if another team were looking to shed salary.

It’s unclear whether that kind of package could net Wiggins, who proved he could be a valuable piece on a championship team in 2022 with the Golden State Warriors. It’s also unclear whether the Lakers believe Wiggins would be a significant upgrade over Rui Hachimura or whether the ideal situation would be to have him on the perimeter in addition to Hachimura.

The Lakers may also want to see how the roster looks with new additions Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and Marcus Smart before cashing in some of their limited trade assets.

But Dončić’s EuroBasket run, in which he fully got to test his slimmed-down physique against defensive game plans built to stop him, reaffirmed his place in the very top tier of basketball players in the world.

Minus some magic from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dončić will finish as the tournament’s scoring leader. The “how” is probably more important than the accomplishment itself; Dončić played noticeably faster when attacking double teams and getting into the paint, where he used his size as a massive advantage.

That area of his game never really got going in Los Angeles. Dončić shot a career-worst 49.3 percent on 2-point attempts as he worked back from injury while trying to shake off the shock from the trade that sent him to the Lakers.

In Europe this summer, Dončić averaged 34.7 points while hitting more than 62 percent of his 2-point shots (and while shooting just 32.1 percent from 3). The quickness getting into the paint also flashed on the defensive end, where he had at least two steals in each of Slovenia’s first six games of the tournament before being held without one against the Germans.

The combination of Dončić’s contract, his improved physical condition and the EuroBasket run delivered a not-too-subtle reminder that planning for the future might get in the way of an opportunity in front of the Lakers now.

It’s still not a given that the Lakers will abandon the caution they’ve used as they built this version of the roster around short-term and expiring deals. However, what they have seen from Dončić over the last month has the organization reassessing things.

Excellent piece by Dan. Lakers rightly need to resolve the starting small forward position before the start of the season. Make the move now even if it costs more because it’s hard to make major changes in the middle of the season when you can’t even practice.

Now that Luka Dončić is locked into an extension, the Lakers are expected to be aggressive on the trade market, with Andrew Wiggins emerging as a target, per @DanWoikeSports “While the Lakers had resisted scenarios in which the team would take on contracts that lasted beyond… pic.twitter.com/MFy0kUFzUS— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 11, 2025

Could Luka Doncic Winning MVP Catapult Lakers To Championship? Luka Doncic used the shock of being traded to the Lakers and criticism of his defense and conditioning to motivate him to make the coming season the best of his career and win his first MVP award and championship… pic.twitter.com/iZn1bytJVI— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 11, 2025

Could Luka Doncic Winning MVP Catapult Lakers To Championship? HOW OFTEN HAS A PLAYER WON MVP & CHAMPIONSHIP?The NBA is the top superstar driven pro sports league. In 70 seasons since the league began honoring the Most Valuable Player, a player has won both the regular… pic.twitter.com/JGgsGxVfkO— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 11, 2025

Could Luka Doncic Winning MVP Catapult Lakers To Championship? WHY LUKA WINNING MVP RAISES LAKERS’ TITLE ODDS!Luka Doncic defeating Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Giannis Antetokounmpo for the NBA MVP award might be the single thing that could dramatically raise… pic.twitter.com/OGtYk2jVu8— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 11, 2025

You take the time to write a sensible article, I’m reading-I’m into it, aaaaaaand you just can’t help yourself. Here’s another “not happening” trade proposal to end it lol.

I can’t see anybody winning MVP while LeBron is still on the team. His presence is just too dominating.

Tough refereeing against Slovenia. Would have like them to move on but glad to see Luka play great and not get injured. Silver lining. We saw Luka Magic. Now we get Luka MVP.

Luka Doncic finishes EuroBasket averaging 34.7 PPG on 65% TS%It’s the most points per game in a single EuroBasket run in 35+ years pic.twitter.com/shwDy1ZgTi— NBA University (@NBA_University) September 10, 2025

Luka Doncic had a summer to remember in the 2025 #EuroBasket 👏34 – 4 – 9 vs POL39 – 8 – 9 vs FRA26 – 10 – 11 vs BEL26 – 7 – 4 vs ISL37 – 11 – 9 vs ISR42 – 10 – 1 vs ITA39 – 10 – 7 vs GER@courtside1891 @EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/FxZczVXYrw— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 10, 2025

LUKA AT HALFTIME VS GERMANY 🔥🔥🔥🪄 ً22 POINTS🪄 4 REBOUNDS🪄 3 ASSISTS pic.twitter.com/09AvxUKowH— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) September 10, 2025

Italian magazine calls Luka Doncic “the most complete player that exists in basketball” 🔥🔥Wow, great respect.(Full article from https://t.co/kuZz2N1Cd0 in comments) pic.twitter.com/if1enHBRxs— HeroOfTheDay (@Hero_OfThe_Day) September 10, 2025

Hope he goes for the Triple Crown: Scoring title, MVP, DPOY!

Why?