Though he stayed with the Milwaukee Bucks through the Feb. 5 trade deadline, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s plans after the 2025-26 season are anyone’s guess.
Antetokounmpo continues to send mixed signals about his future in Milwaukee, where the Bucks (23-30) are 1.5 games from catching the 10th-seeded Atlanta Hawks. Teams expressed interest in acquiring Antetokounmpo at the deadline, but the Bucks were never committed to trading him and reportedly hope to convince him to sign a contract extension on Oct.1.
The inability of a “core four” group of teams — the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks — to close a trade for Antetokounmpo opens the door for others to pitch the two-time MVP in the summer.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, “it wasn’t hard” to find executives around the NBA during All-Star Weekend who expect Antetokounmpo suitors to multiply after the season. That includes a certain team in Los Angeles that is on the hunt for an incoming superstar to replace one who may have one foot out the door already.
“The Los Angeles Lakers,” Amick wrote, “are known to be planning an all-out pursuit” of Antetokounmpo this summer.
Swapping LeBron James for Antetokounmpo would be a major statement of intent from the Lakers, who would add the future Hall of Fame big man to a team with top-caliber guards in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. With previous reporting indicating that Antetokounmpo is seen as the Lakers’ “big prize” this summer, this is a situation worth monitoring in the months ahead.
