The player review series is officially back! We are nearly one month removed from the conclusion of the 2024-25 Miami Heat season, which was one of the worst since the turn of the century. Over the next several (week)days, we will be reviewing how each Heat player performed throughout the 2024-25 season, recapping important numbers, best game(s), and their future outlook with the team. Today, we will be reviewing Andrew Wiggins, who arrived at the trade deadline and didn’t quite play as well as fans would have hoped.
Let’s dive into it— and if you’ve missed any of our previous reviews, click below!
- Bam Adebayo
- Kyle Anderson
- Alec Burks
- Tyler Herro
- Haywood Highsmith
- Jaime Jaquez Jr.
- Keshad Johnson
- Nikola Jovic
- Pelle Larsson
- Kevin Love
- Davion Mitchell
- Duncan Robinson
- Terry Rozier
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Brief Overview:
2024-25 stats (with Heat):
- 19.0 PTS
- 4.2 REB
- 3.3 AST
- 1.0 STLS
- 32.1 MIN
- 45.8 FG%
- 36 3P%
- 56.6 TS%
Wiggins joined the Heat from the Warriors at the deadline in exchange for Jimmy Butler. At the time it looked like a very good trade from the Heat’s perspective as Wiggins was the second-best player on the Warriors’ most recent champion team, and recently an All-Star. Unfortunately, the generally healthy Wiggins encountered many minor injuries in Miami that kept him out of 15 of 27 games.
With that being said, he had his moments in the black and red, scoring 25+ points five times and notching a season-high 42 points just prior to the playoffs. Wiggins never quite found his rhythm with the Heat, every time he seemed to figure out his role a nagging injury took him out. Spo changed his game up slightly, urging him to go downhill more where he found success, it just wasn’t as consistent as one might hope. He did put up good stats with the Heat, but the breakout fans thought was coming after the 42-point explosion didn’t carry over to the playoffs
Wiggins also struggled in the playoffs, where he never notched 20 points in the sweep by Cleveland. He appeared frustrated at times and declined to appear for media interviews to end the season with the Heat.
Wiggins is incredibly talented and still young. He could easily be an All-Star in Miami if the Heat decide to keep him. A full season in Heat-Culture would do him well, but it remains to be seen what’s next for the former 1st overall pick.
Numbers To Note:
15 – The amount of games missed by Andrew Wiggins as a member of the Heat. As I mentioned before, Wiggins faced nagging injuries to his ankles, and hamstrings following the trade deadline. As a result, he never really found a rhythm or a true role in the Heat offense and that was reflected in his fluctuating point totals from game to game. Wiggins is way too talented a player to score 42 points one game and then 10 the next. If he could find consistency in a Heat uniform, he would have a real impact.
1.2 – The amount of steals Wiggins racked up per game in a Heat uniform. Though many of us (myself included) were focused on his offense, it’s easy to forget how good a defender Wiggins is. His presence was felt in many games, especially when his shot wasn’t falling. It’s easy sometimes to see why the front office viewed him as an ideal fit in Spo’s system.
Best game?
Wiggins’ 42-point explosion vs Charlotte. Despite Charlotte, well being Charlotte Wiggins put on a show and demonstrated why he had so much hype coming into the league and why he still shows much promise. It was the second-highest scoring game of his career, and also one where Herro scored 29 showing that there were more than enough points to go around in the Heat offense. At the time it looked like a sign of things to come.
What’s next?
It’s unclear whether or not we’ll see Wiggins suit up in Heat colors next season. I don’t think it’s fair to judge his small sample size of Heat games as a complete assessment of what he brings to the table, given the number of injuries he faced. All of his injuries were nagging, and they never disappeared completely during his season.
We know Wiggins can deliver, he has in the past and he can again – it’s just more a matter of whether or not the Heat wants to embrace that potential, or trade it in a package for a more consistent solution. Time will tell.
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“It’s unclear whether or not we’ll see Wiggins suit up in Heat colors next season. I don’t think it’s fair to judge his small sample size of Heat games as a complete assessment of what he brings to the table, given the number of injuries he faced. All of his injuries were nagging, and they never disappeared completely during his season.
We know Wiggins can deliver, he has in the past and he can again – it’s just more a matter of whether or not the Heat wants to embrace that potential, or trade it in a package for a more consistent solution. Time will tell.”
Although several of us were disappointed with Wiggins’ performance after the trade, he still had respectable numbers at a bargain price when compared to the player he replaced “QUITTER” Butler. During his career, Wiggins has played an average of 69.6 games per season while Quitter has played an average of 62.1 games. Quitter will turn 36 in September. Wiggins turned 30 in February.
2024-2025 Statistical Comparisons after February 6, 2025 trade
PPG: Wiggins 19.0 Quitter 17.9
RPG: Wiggins 4.2 Quitter 5.5
APG: Wiggins 3.3 Quitter 5.9
SPG: Wiggins 1.2 Quitter 1.7
MPG: Wiggins 32.1 Quitter 32.7
FG%: Wiggins 45.8 Quitter 47.6
3PT%: Wiggins 36.3 Quitter 27.9
Salaries: 2024-2025, 2025-2026, 2026-2027
Wiggins: $26,276,786, $28,223,215, $30,169,644 (Total: $84.6M))
Quitter: $48,798,677, $54,126,450, $56,832,773 (Total: $159.7M)
The Heat definitely received the better end of the deal in the Butler trade. Golden State is now saddled the next two years with $111M in salary for a fading Quitter.
In 2025-2026, Miami needs to build a team of two way players and to the extent possible, get rid of one way players who prove a liability on either offense or defense. Wiggins is a two-way player on a very affordable contract. Miami should keep him, unless he needs to be included in a trade for a ss. There are several players on expiring contracts and one way players that Miami should look to trade before Wiggins. I see him as a vital part of the starting unit for the foreseeable future.
His most successful games comes in GS, where he was surrounded with two elite shooters, which opens up the space to go to the rim, which is basically his game.
He wont have this in Miami in foreseen future, so will be relatively easy limited.
I m not seeing him as integral part of the team, as is constructed. I believe, that we have what he provide in JJJ, if he improve next year, for a much lesser price.
Wiggins just turned 30 in February. He scored 19.0 ppg with Miami (second highest on the team behind Herro). His stats last year were very comparable to his career stats. The old saying is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” From what I have seen, Wiggins ain’t broke. He is also a two-way player, which is the direction Miami wants to go in the future.
However, there are players on the Heat who are broken, who are one dimensional, who do have unfulfilled potential or who are on expiring contracts. Other than Ware, Bam, Mitchell (if he is resigned) and Wiggins, every one of the team’s other players should be on the chopping block before you put a two-way former all-star and world champion who is on a team friendly contract up for trade.
I’m not saying that players such as Jovic, Jaquez, Johnson or the 2025 draft pick can’t be developed to replace Wiggins by the time his contract expires in 2027 or if he opts out of the final year at the end of next season, but none of them are there right now.