"I would've traded Rui/Dalton + a 1st for Andrew Wiggins." – @RajChipalu The Lakers need a real 3 — someone who can defend wings, finish plays, and elevate this roster.Wiggins checks those boxes.🎥- Full convo w/ Raj on the Lakers here:https://t.co/mih9jIz62f pic.twitter.com/gJeQKBYUgu— Osid 🍉 (@osid24) July 19, 2025
If only the Lakers wanted him. lol. Maybe if it were 3 years ago….
Looking at the numbers when he was on Golden State, which is a better comparison as to what his role on the Lakers would be, Rui and he are basically putting up the same numbers. Rui costs a lot less and is the better offensive player. Wiggins is older and has the edge on defense…for now.
Once one starts to take into account that Wiggins played with a far superior back line in the paint, better perimeter defenders and a scheme that worked to all their combined strengths I start to question his overall individual impact. Not to say that he’s not a good defender but that defense is as much a reflection of the team’s overall cohesion and focus on that end as anything else.
Toss in that we’re trading 2 for 1 without a clear upgrade or even replacement and this all makes less sense. If we’re giving up a pick it’s a bad deal for us. We can’t be trading any picks for 30+ year old role players who have player options in years where we want fiduciary flexibility.
But don’t listen to me, Rob et al has been signaling this for months, just need to read the writing on the wall.