Andrew Wiggins has important decision to make this offseason. What it means for the Heat
.JPG "Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) looks on after a play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second half of their NBA game at Kaseya Center on Nov. 12, 2025, in Miami.")
The Miami Heat has a long list of important decisions to make this offseason after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. But one situation is essentially out of the Heat’s control.
That’s because veteran forward Andrew Wiggins has a $30.2 million player option in his contract for next season that he must decide on by June 29.
If Wiggins picks up the option, he would be on the Heat’s roster for next season on an expiring contract with a salary of $30.2 million.
If Wiggins declines the option, he would become an unrestricted free agent this offseason for the first time in his NBA career.
Wiggins also has until June 30 to negotiate an extension that can be worth up to $177 million over four seasons. The extension can replace Wiggins’ $30.2 million option year with a lower salary and more guaranteed years attached to it, or even be tacked on to his $30.2 million option year with lower salaries in the coming seasons.
Wiggins declined to speak at the Heat’s exit interviews last week, but he recently spoke about his NBA future with the Miami Herald.
“Not yet,” Wiggins, 31, said when asked if he has thought about the offseason decision he’ll need to make. “Me and my agent will get together whenever the season is done and figure it out. But I love Miami. I love being here.”
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While Wiggins opting to bypass his player option to enter free agency this summer would give the Heat as much as $60 million in space below the 2026-27 luxury tax line, there’s also a benefit for the Heat if he picks up his player option to return to the team on a $30.2 million salary for next season.
If Wiggins opts into his contract for next season, he would become available to be included in a trade. His $28.2 million salary from this season would immediately be eligible to be added to a trade.
This would be helpful in any potential trade for a high-salary player like Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the Heat needing to match salaries to execute such a deal. Without Wiggins, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are currently the only Heat players on its books with a salary of more than $20 million for next season.
“I don’t really know how to feel about it,” Wiggins said of the possibility of becoming a free agent this offseason for the first time in his NBA career. “I’ve never really gone through it. I’m going into year 13. It would be interesting. It would be something I haven’t experienced that I get to.”
In the end, Wiggins will need to decide on what to do after turning in one of the best seasons of his NBA career.
In Wiggins’ first full season with the Heat after the Golden State Warriors dealt him to Miami as part of the Jimmy Butler trade midway through the 2024-25 season, Wiggins averaged 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and one block per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 41.4 percent on 4.9 three-point attempts per game in a starting role this season.
The field-goal percentage of 47.5 percent is the second-best Wiggins has recorded during a season in his NBA career. The three-point percentage of 41.4 percent is a career-best for Wiggins.
“Everyone has been great to me,” Wiggins said of his time with the Heat. “From the organization, the fans, to the city. And just playing a winning style of basketball. Being on a team, an organization that really cares for the players, always wants the best for them. They’re very straightforward, and all about winning. It’s kind of like an old-school vibe here that I like.”
Wiggins, who just finished his 12th NBA season, has proven to be an elite complementary player when surrounded by elite talent. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was voted into the 2022 All-Star Game as a starter and logged the second-most minutes for the Warriors during the 2022 playoff run that ended in an NBA championship.
As Wiggins prepares to make an important decision on what comes next in his NBA career, he’s grateful for his time with the Heat regardless of what the future holds.
“I came here during my 11th year,” Wiggins said of joining the Heat midway through the 2024-25 season. “I just kind of refined everything that I was doing before, just getting my shot better. My free throws, I was working on that. I’ve gotten better this year. Just trying to be in the right spot and even stay getting better playing off-ball, too.”
