MIAMI — The consummate supporting player when playing at his best, Andrew Wiggins this offseason – at least at the start of it – arguably stands as a Miami Heat leading man.
When it comes to the direction of where Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg and the rest of the Heat front office take this next, the veteran forward currently holds the greatest sway of any player on the season-ending roster.
Three widely divergent possibilities are at play with the 31-year-old former championship and All-Star forward.
— He has a June 29 deadline to pick up a $30.2 million player option for next season.
— He can bypass that option and enter free agency on July 1.
— He has until June 30 to work out an extension that can be valued at up to $177 million over four seasons.
If the option is picked up, Wiggins would become available in a trade, his $28.2 million salary from the current cap season immediately allowed to be put into a transaction.
By contrast, if the option is bypassed, it would remove a trade-balancing salary-cap tool from what already is a limit such arsenal, considering Terry Rozier’s $26.6 million is off the team’s books, unlike at the February NBA trading deadline.
With Wiggins’ money on the books, it would make it easier for the Heat to match salaries for a potential swing for the fences should opportunities arise for the likes of a Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Ja Morant or another potential direction-altering trade acquisition.
As for the salary and even the extension, the question becomes whether the greater benefit would be his continued presence on the roster as opposed to the Heat otherwise standing as much as $63 million below the 2026-27 luxury tax.
Ultimately, the decision on the option solely stands with Wiggins, a potential 2026-27 cap hit the Heat accepted with the Feb. 2025 trade of Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors (Butler is due $56.8 million next season from the Warriors, as he recovers from January’s torn ACL).
Wiggins, who declined to speak at the Heat’s exit interviews last week, spoke privately a week earlier to the Sun Sentinel about what might come next.
“I’m not sure yet,” he said, with the Heat’s season ending last week with their play-in overtime road loss to the Charlotte Hornets. “I’m going to see what’s going on and talk to my agent. Obviously, I love Miami.”
Should Wiggins opt in, the extension window would remain open in the offseason, allowing the Heat to get a better read on Wiggins’ role going forward.
While Wiggins closed the season as he started at small forward, he also spent considerable time this past season as an undersized power forward when Kel’el Ware was out of the lineup. According to Basketball Reference’s play-by-play breakdown, Wiggins, at 6 feet 7, 210 pounds, was cast at power forward 35% of his minutes this past season, small forward 49% and shooting guard 16%.
ASK IRA: Are Magic showing Heat that it’s time to measure up?
Ira Winderman: Goran Dragic draws needed Heat-Giannis link, as the pursuit resumes
Heat’s Jaquez will learn Sixth Man fate on Wednesday; Adebayo 11th in vote for Defensive Player
As Nikola Jovic laments Heat struggles, Erik Spoelstra says enough with the ‘victim mindset’
Going forward, if coach Erik Spoelstra in the void of a major trade stays with a bigger lineup featuring Ware at center and Bam Adebayo at power forward, the Heat would have other, younger potential options to start at small forward such as Pelle Larsson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Myron Gardner or a player from the first round of June’s NBA draft.