The Los Angeles Lakers clearly have a flawed roster that requires more support. So, why hasn't Rob Pelinka budged to deliver any of those much-needed upgrades? In short, the Lakers are still holding out hope for one name to become available. That would be Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Zach Lowe suggested as much during a recent appearance for Amazon Prime's NBA coverage. Antetokounmpo is delivering mixed messages regarding his future with the Milwaukee Bucks. Several franchises were noted to be watching carefully amid that process.
"It's not just us that are tracking it," Lowe said. "... The [Atlanta] Hawks, the [Golden State] Warriors, the Lakers, the [Miami] Heat, maybe the [New York] Knicks, are sort of thinking to themselves, 'Do we need to keep all of our stuff and wait for Giannis to maybe become available?"
The NBA insider said it does not matter if that happens now or during the summer, teams are monitoring the situation and waiting for the moment. Lowe also stated that if Giannis does not take an extension from the Bucks, that qualifies as 'basically demanding a trade.'
Lakers GM is still prioritizing the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes
It's not very often that a superstar of Giannis' caliber is available for trade. The Lakers already struck gold once with Luka Doncic. Now, it's all about pairing up their tremendously talented point guard with the proper support.
What Lowe spoke about falls in line with what others have stated about this coming summer potentially setting the stage for Antetokounmpo to finally be on the move. Giannis would only have one guaranteed year remaining in Milwaukee without a new extension being signed.
Sam Amick, who sat down with Giannis not too long ago for an interview that was supposed to calm the storm around the Bucks superstar, has recently hinted the situation may be evolving in Milwaukee too. According to the NBA insider, an escalation is 'widely expected' in the offseason.
"it would be ill-advised for any potential suitor to give up any assets in another trade now that might come in handy later," Amick wrote.
Jake Fischer reported the Lakers would be taking a conservative approach in the lead-up to the NBA trade deadline. Giving themselves an opportunity at Antetokounmpo would be defensible justification for doing so, despite the current team's needs.
There is naturally nothing close to a guarantee that Giannis would land in Los Angeles. That much would require an assist from the Bucks superstar himself. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained. If the rumors are true, the Lakers want to have the opportunity to shoot their shot, at the very least.