The Los Angeles Lakers is the team to play for if you are an all-time legend in the game of basketball. Some of the best to ever lace it up have donned the purple and gold at various points throughout their career.
With so many superstars in the franchise’s history, fans cannot help but think about what could be next for the Lake Show. The team has committed to Anthony Davis long-term but if he is going to win more titles he will need a superstar running mate once LeBron James leaves.
For several years now the ideal running mate has seemingly been Jayson Tatum. There is no guarantee that Tatum will ever even be available, though, so the Lakers need to ensure that there are other options.
And a huge potential option may have just emerged. Former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo made it very clear recently that if the Milwaukee Bucks are not on the same page in terms of winning a championship he will not sign a max contract extension (h/t The New York Times).
Giannis says that he doesn't plan on signing an extension until he knows the Bucks will continue to compete for a championship. pic.twitter.com/8H7dJUxPHM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 24, 2023
Giannis didn’t specifically say that he would leave the Bucks but if he is not signing an extension there is no other option but to test the open market and see what is out there.
The Lakers make a lot of sense to be Giannis Antetokounmpo’s next team.
Giannis very obviously wants to play for a team that will commit to winning a championship and there is no organization that is better at doing that than the Los Angeles Lakers. That is why there are 17 banners hanging from the rafters.
Los Angeles also has a better future than the Bucks, who are depleted in draft picks thanks to the Jrue Holiday trade and are getting older as a supporting cast. Milwaukee isn’t necessarily a free-agent destination, either, so it is going to be hard for the Bucks to commit to winning long-term with Giannis. Los Angeles does not have that problem.
Giannis can be a free agent in the summer of 2025. That coincidentally lines up with when the Lakers will have a lot of cap space with LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell’s contracts coming off the books at that point in time.
The team will still be paying Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis but it would have more than enough space to bring in Giannis. Hachimura could easily be moved if LA needed to get off the salary figure and the team could create a big three of Giannis, AD and Reaves. Antetokounmpo will be entering his age 31 season, so he would still have 3-4 more elite years in him.
It wouldn’t be the first time an all-time great from Milwaukee decided to leave the Bucks and come to Los Angeles to chase more championships.