The Miami Heat and forward Andrew Wiggins have come to terms on a new 3 year, $64M contract extension on Monday which includes a player option for the 3rd season.
As part of the agreement, Wiggins picked up his $30.2M player option for the 2026-27 NBA campaign. The deal locks up a key piece of Miami’s starting five after depleting much of their depth to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier this offseason. The Canadian is expected to start alongside Giannis and Bam Adebayo for he new look Heat this year.
Wiggins shot 47.5% from the field last season while averaging 15.4 points per game in his first full season in South Beach. After coming over in a trade deadline deal with the Warriors in February of 2025, Wiggins would appear in 68 contests for the Heat, averaging just over 30 minutes (30.3) per night.
Given the 31 year old’s versatility as a 3 and D wingman, he should complement the rim protecting abilities of Giannis and Bam in coach Erik Spoelstra’s notoriously stingy defence. The signing is a win for a Miami team that was low on depth following their offseason moves, and will have Giannis’ $58.5M cap hit to navigate this year before needing to iron out a long term deal for 2027-28 and beyond.
Wiggins will essentially play on a front loaded contract, earning most of his money this season, before bringing in $16.5M in 2027-28 and $17.5M in 2028-29. While that helps, it certainly doesn’t solve the Heat’s need to field a competitive roster without breaking the bank in the long term.
The team picked up guard Pelle Larsson’s option for the upcoming season, and have guaranteed Dru Smith’s contract in recent weeks. The club subsequently turned down Jahmir Young’s option, leaving the club $20.5M below the first-apron for luxury tax purposes, but 5 roster spots shy of a full team.
Normal Powell is set to become a free agent, and would leave a massive scoring void in Miami’s starting lineup should he opt to sign elsewhere. While there’s reportedly mutual interest in a reunion, the veteran shooting guard will almost certainly be looking for a pay raise from his $20.4M earned last season.
Since being drafted 1st overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, Wiggins has averaged 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 834 games over 12 NBA seasons.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.