It was only a matter of time before the Lakers were linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This week, the Greek Freak kind of, sort of demanded a trade, a perfect punctuation on what has been a mess of a Bucks season. Whatever words he wants to use to describe it is a debate for another day, but the end result is that Milwaukee is now fielding offers for him.
Right now, the Lakers don’t have much of a chance at Giannis. If the Bucks’ goal is to make a deal over the next week before the deadline, the Lakers can’t
offer more than one first round pick, one second round pick and salaries. Austin Reaves could be included in the deal, but his ability to opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer makes him unappealing to Milwaukee.
However, if things drag out to the summer, then the Lakers can be much more of a factor. And that gets more intriguing with the latest reporting tidbit from The Ringer’s Howard Beck.
On the newest episode of “The Zach Lowe Show,” Beck mentioned the Lakers as a team that could have Giannis’ interest.
“I was told recently that the Lakers were a team to keep an eye from Giannis’ standpoint just as another team of interest. But, again, there’s a difficulty there in terms of trade assets. They’re another team where, once the summer comes, they got more on the draft capital side of things and they got more clarity once they figure out where LeBron is or isn’t and where Austin Reaves is because he’s a free agent.”
Unfortunately, this likely doesn’t change a lot for the Lakers. Unless the Bucks really want to do a solid for Giannis and send him somewhere he wants to go, the Lakers still likely lack the draft picks and young players to make a competitive offer.
Even if Giannis says he won’t sign an extension with a team that trades for him, he still has a whole other season on his contract. The earliest he could be a free agent is the summer of 2027. It would be similar to the situation with Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors, as an example.
The other aspect that needs to happen is Giannis trying to force his way to LA. And given how much he hasn’t wanted to be the bad guy in Milwaukee so far, that feels unlikely to happen either.
The biggest thing the Lakers can offer Milwaukee is tax relief, which other teams might not be able to. With a huge amount of projected cap space, the Lakers could help the Bucks save a lot of money, which is something few other teams making offers will be able to do.
Is a package of lesser picks but more money saved enticing to the Bucks? It depends on what the ownership is looking for in the next deal.
But if Giannis is intrigued by the Lakers, then that at least opens the door.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
