The Los Angeles Lakers keep moving through the current NBA season, and the team’s front office has some work to do regarding the state of the squad. This team is led by stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James, but the rest of the roster is lacking just a little around the edge. For the Lakers, they want to compete for a title, but where things currently stand, it remains to be seen if they can do that going forward with the roster. Los Angeles has other talented guys on the team, such as Austin Reaves, but it may not be enough to push them ahead in the loaded Western Conference.
However, the team may not be able to address everything this season, in part due to a lack of overall tradable resources. This coming offseason, the Lakers will be given an extra first-round draft pick to use in potential trades, and it could make all the difference for them. But this team also has to figure out what to do with a few players on the roster since their contracts are expiring after the year. Reaves is one of these players who will be a free agent, and the Lakers have been trying to figure out how to proceed with him.
With the fact that James will also be retiring fairly soon, this will leave a large hole in the overall roster. Doncic needs a running mate, and the Lakers have already started to think about the future of the team. With James likely coming off the books soon, this will free up a max contract slot for the Lakers. The team could use this to land another superstar, giving them a better chance to win more.
Doncic is in his prime, and the Lakers will look to maximize everything that goes with this. Los Angeles wants to add more banners to the mix, and they can do this by getting another star to replace James. Nobody knows how the Lakers will proceed with this, but this team always seems to land star players on the team. The franchise is all about star players.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Traded to Los Angeles Lakers
Due to the Lakers’ searching for different options to pair alongside Doncic, there is one that makes all the sense in the world. That would be star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, whose future with the team remains up in the air at the moment. The Bucks don’t want to admit it, but Antetokounmpo could easily leave the team in the next year or two. This would open the door for a franchise like the Lakers to strike, and they could make a compelling offer to Milwaukee.
If the Lakers were to package multiple draft picks and a few players, likely including Reaves in the mix, the Bucks may be willing to make the move. However, all of this depends on what the star wants to do. But Milwaukee doesn’t have all the power here, as Antetokounmpo will have a say in where he eventually lands. Since the NBA is such a player empowerment league, the star will be able to choose his next destination if he does leave the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo could tell Milwaukee that he wants to play alongside Doncic in Los Angeles. And the Bucks would then be forced to deal with the Lakers.
Of course, Antetokounmpo may not do this, and he could give Milwaukee a list of teams. And the veteran may prefer to stay with the Bucks for the foreseeable future.
Only the star knows what his future holds, and he will have a say in it all. But a duo of Doncic and Antetokounmpo could allow the Lakers to thrive for years to come. This could be one of the better star pairings in recent memory. The Lakers could likely go after multiple NBA titles if this were to occur down the line.
It remains to be seen how this will all play out, but the idea of Antetokounmpo coming to Los Angeles is one of the more fun ones around the league. Los Angeles needs another star after James retires, and Antetokounmpo could be one of the best options for them going forward.
