In a fairly rare occurrence, there is a superstar on the trade market and the Lakers are a complete non-factor.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s trade demand has finally come and the Lakers, in their current situation, have nothing competitive to offer relative to other teams across the league. As a result, there have been no links — outside of a vaguely-worded report — between Giannis and the purple and gold.
At least for now.
While things seem to be trending toward a deal being completed before Thursday’s
trade deadline, if Giannis isn’t moved, then the Lakers are going to be involved, at least according to longtime NBA writer Marc Stein. In his latest Substack piece, Stein reported that the Lakers would be a big factor for Giannis if things push into the offseason.
No one is talking about the Lakers as a factor in The Giannis Sweepstakes right now because they’re not a factor if a trade is going to happen by week’s end. They don’t have enough tradeable assets to join the in-season bidders.
But if the Bucks do ultimately decide to take this saga into that spring …The Lakers, league sources say, would then indeed become a very viable threat to land No. 34.
There is little choice for the Lakers, heading into Thursday’s deadline, except to stay patient and avoid deals that involve any long-term salary to maintain maximum flexibility for the spring. The hope for the purple-and-gold would then be to use their considerable projected salary cap space to be able to take in a contract like Antetokounmpo’s via trade — or another expensive star if one shakes loose post-playoffs — to pair with backcourt cornerstones Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves (who returned to action Tuesday night in Brooklyn after a 19-game injury absence). And dealing with the Lakers in such a scenario would almost certainly spare the Bucks from getting saddled with unwanted contracts.
The Lakers are always going to be a threat for available superstars whenever it’s remotely possible. The question the teams pursuing Giannis now must answer is if they think the Lakers will be so much of a threat that they could actually land him.
If they do feel that’s the case, then perhaps they’ll feel they need to push hard for him now to ensure the Lakers don’t get involved. That likely won’t be the driving factor in their decision, but it will be a factor.
The other question is will this cause the Lakers to hold onto their draft assets heading into the summer? Will there be a game of chicken where the Lakers wait to see if Giannis is traded before moving forward at the deadline?
The allure of Giannis is hard to deny. Even if he’s on the wrong side of 30 and has a history of calf strains, he’s still one of the 20 or 30 greatest players ever to play and is still in his prime. You can understand why teams are doing everything they can to land him.
And if they don’t do it now, it may move the Lakers to the front of the pack.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
