The Los Angeles Lakers’ season is over. So is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s. With so much extra time off, is there a scenario where the Greek Freak sets his sights on coming to Los Angeles and teaming up with Luka Doncic and company?
ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst recently speculated on that dreamy scenario playing out for the Lakers this offseason. But how realistic is an Antetokounmpo trade to the Lakers?
According to Windhorst, a trade to the Lakers may only come into play if Antetokounmpo specifically requests it. Though, there’s nothing preventing the Lakers from presenting their best offer anyway.
“Could the Lakers make an offer?” Windhorst said during ESPN’s “Get Up” morning show. “Yes. Could Giannis come in and say, ‘I am going nowhere but the Lakers’? Yes. And if that happens, that would increase it. But I don’t think the Lakers or the [New York] Knicks could make an offer that’s in the top five or six. But because Giannis potentially has agency in this, then you would say that his words would matter a lot.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on Giannis Antetokounmpo
This is the first time in Antetokounmpo’s NBA career that he’s actually reportedly open to playing for a team other than the Milwaukee Bucks. Surely, the 30-year-old two-time MVP would prefer to stick with a contender, and as long as the Lakers have LeBron and Doncic, they’d certainly fit the bill.
Plus, wouldn’t a trio of Antetokounmpo, Doncic, and LeBron be better than a Bucks core that will be without Damian Lillard to start the season? Of course, the Lakers would have to part with some of their best non-star players and future draft capital to even have a chance at trading for the nine-time All-Star and that may still not be enough to get the job done.
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