And so it begins.
While the Lakers made a small move for Luke Kennard on Thursday ahead of the trade deadline, their biggest win came when the Bucks opted not to deal Giannis Antetokounmpo. By kicking the can down the road on his kinda sorta trade demand, it brings the Lakers into the fold this summer.
To the shock of no one, the Lakers plan to go after the Greek Freak in the offseason, as reported by Brad Turner of the LA Times.
The Lakers will make a hard push to acquire the All-Star forward during
the summer, people with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Times, after the Milwaukee Bucks declined to deal the two-time most valuable player by the noon deadline.
People close to Antetokounmpo said the New York Knicks and Miami Heat are his preferred destinations, but he would not rule out the Lakers .
While the first point is very obvious in that the Lakers will go after Giannis, the latter part is the most interesting. New York has long been at the top of the list for Giannis, but their involvement in any trade feels like it will depend on whether things go awry for them in the postseason.
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As for the Heat, they had a chance at Giannis at the deadline but couldn’t muster a good enough offer. With Tyler Herro and Kel’el Ware to go with draft picks, they’re going to have one of the most competitive offers.
Having said all that, the Lakers have never been much of a factor in the Giannis trade conversation until now. Once they establish themselves as an option, will that sway Giannis? He had a lengthy response talking about how cool it was for a European to be the face of the Lakers when Luka was traded to LA. More recently, he spoke glowingly about LeBron James after playing him in Crypto.com Arena.
None of that means he would want to play in LA, necessarily. But the allure of playing with Luka has to mean something.
But it doesn’t mean the Bucks will send him to the Lakers either. They’ll have to make the best offer. But they’re going to be in the race, which is closer than they’ve been at any other point.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
