Following a 22-point home loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night, it's another appropriate time for Los Angeles Lakers fans to dream about acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo in the offseason.
Conveniently, NBA insider Jake Fischer indicated on Sunday (subscription required) that a Giannis departure is still very possible this summer, with the Lakers and their imminent cap space expected to play a prominent role in the sweepstakes.
Jake Fischer just linked the Lakers to Giannis in a big way
Fischer also revealed that the Bucks were closer than they've ever been to trading Giannis before the Feb. 5 deadline and that "a move to a true title contender is the most likely endgame for (Giannis)."
Fischer specifically mentioned the Lakers and Miami Heat as teams that make sense for Antetokounmpo.
We know that Giannis wants to contend for another championship and also has a strong interest in playing in a big market. He has discussed both concepts publicly.
Antetokounmpo would have both of those boxes checked were he to team up with Luka Doncic in Los Angeles.
A Luka-Giannis duo, surrounded by shooting, would instantly become the most unstoppable offensive machine in the NBA.
Defensively, Giannis's singular presence would do much to make up for Luka's shortcomings on that end, and it would be up to president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka to fill out the rest of the roster with length and athleticism, in addition to the aforementioned shooting.
But Pelinka's job would be far easier than it currently is if Luka and Giannis were suddenly both on the Lakers roster.
Fischer's reporting on Sunday might be labeled mere rumor by Giannis-to-Lakers naysayers, but Fischer's been spot-on many times before, and Giannis landing in LA wouldn't actually be a surprise to anyone.
Even when viewed within an NBA historical lens, Antetokounmpo donning the purple and gold would fall right in line with the Lakers' decades-long tradition of luring MVPs to LA in a secondary phase of their career. Wilt Chamberlain. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. LeBron James.
Abdul-Jabbar is a particularly worthy parallel, considering he started his dominant NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks, winning three MVPs and a Rookie of the Year over six seasons in Milwaukee before donning a Lakers uniform, in which he won three further MVP trophies.
Giannis is already 13 seasons into his Bucks (and NBA) career, but at 31 years old, he's only three years older than Kareem was when Abdul-Jabbar made the move to LA. Remember, Kareem (then Lew Alcindor) played three seasons of college ball at UCLA before entering the NBA.
Does Giannis want to mimic Abdul-Jabbar's career arc in this fashion? Time will tell, but there aren't many (if any) better models for an NBA journey than Kareem's.