This NBA offseason should be an interesting one and the biggest domino to fall could be Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks flirted with trading Antetokounmpo at the deadline this past year, but ultimately held onto him. Their organization is a long way off from being competitive though, so the expectation is still will look to trade him again this summer and one team that could get in the mix is the Los Angeles Lakers, via Dan Woike and Sam Amick of The Athletic:
The Lakers are expected to explore Antetokounmpo trade scenarios this summer.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Lakers were one of the teams that attempted to acquire the Greek superstar at the deadline and after a second-round exit could look to do so again:
The NBA playoffs represent another landmark point for the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. Sources said postseason teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers pursued Antetokounmpo at the February deadline, and their finishes to the campaign will play a major factor in their aggressiveness to trade for him.
While the Lakers wanting to pair Antetokounmpo with Luka Doncic to get back into championship contention makes sense, it may not be feasible.
The Lakers only have three first-round picks available to trade this summer, plus some swaps and second-rounders. Milwaukee is believed to not only be looking for significant draft compensation, but also a young core player they can build around moving forward. The Lakers lack that second aspect, so they likely would get outbid by other teams pursuing Antetokounmpo.
L.A.’s best asset may be Austin Reaves, but he is expected to decline his player option and hit unrestricted free agency this offseason. There’s no indication he would be willing to do a sign-and-trade to play for the rebuilding Bucks, and the Lakers have also made it clear they would like to keep Reaves.
Giannis Antetokounmpo might not want to play in L.A.
It remains to be seen if Antetokounmpo would even be open to playing for the Lakers as he recently made some interesting comments about the city of Los Angeles.
He was asked where he would prefer to vacation between Miami and L.A. and had an emphatic answer.
“Miami. Miami, Miami. I think L.A. superficial,” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t like L.A.”
If Antetokounmpo doesn’t want to play for them, then it’s hard to imagine the Lakers pulling off a trade with the Bucks given their lack of assets compared to other suitors.
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