The Los Angeles Lakers foolishly have their sights set on winning the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes that will drag into the offseason. They refused to take on long-term money at the deadline to preserve their cap space and wouldn’t part with their tradeable first-round draft pick. It turns into three this summer, and the Lakers' dream of turning their open room into Giannis. The problem is that they can’t win the bidding war and will have no backup plan that makes them a serious contender.
The Lakers are known for chasing stars and want to remake their roster around Luka Doncic. They should be looking for shooting, defense, and a strong pick-and-roll partner for number 77. Adding Giannis as a co-star means dumping Austin Reaves or going with an extremely top-heavy roster in the second apron era. Both are terrifying realities for the Lakers.
There will be no other Giannis available. The Lakers would love to put another top-five player in the world on their roster, but striking out puts them in a difficult spot. They risk alienating Austin Reaves and LeBron James, who are unrestricted free agents and will draw interest from every team. Doncic can’t do it alone, and this plan has massive bust potential.
Lakers have a foolish plan to chase Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Greek Freak already made it clear he wants to go to the Knicks. He has just one year left on his contract after this season. Giannis will control his destination, and the Lakers can’t gamble on one season in the middle of Luka’s prime. LA needs a co-star for the next half-decade.
Their odds increase this summer, but nobody is putting the purple and gold in the lead. They are behind the Knicks, Timberwolves, and Heat at minimum. The Warriors will mount a strong pursuit, and every other team will make the call. Winning this bidding war will be painful for whichever team gets it.
If the Lakers lose, they would be forced to chase role players to build around Luka Doncic. Rob Pelinka has a history of targeting players with an elite skill that struggle everywhere else. He will likely do so again if the Giannis pursuit fails. LA’s roster will be worse, and Doncic may feel like he is wasting his prime.
The Lakers did very little at the deadline. They acquired a lights out shooter, but failed to address their defensive issues. With two stars in their primes and one nearing the end, they chose future flexibility. That time comes this summer, and moves have to be made.
If not, it is a disaster on two fronts, and Lakers fans should be angry. The pressure is on to make meaningful upgrades this summer and be ready to chase a championship in 2027.
Instead, the Lakers are going for Giannis. Building around the two stars with limited flexibility will be a challenge, and the pressure is on to win immediately because of Antetokounmpo’s injury history.
The Lakers are the only projected contender to have cap space this summer, but that is another Pelinka mistake. Others used their room to buy players now. Los Angeles kept their powder dry, but this is not expected to be a game-changing crop of players on the open market. It was the latest head-scratching choice from Pelinka and his front office. Even trying to steal a restricted free agent like Peyton Watson takes time and may ruin their Giannis chase.
This would just be another disastrous move by Rob Pelinka and the front office. The Los Angeles Lakers can’t afford to chase Giannis. Even if they win, the superstar’s lengthy injury history will be a problem.
It is obvious the franchise will do it, and fans know they will end up with egg on their face either way. That is the Pelinka era in a nutshell. A couple of fantastic moves followed by multiple problematic ones.
Nothing will change until he is gone. The Lakers shouldn’t trust Pelinka to build a title contender around Luka Doncic, but they do. All fans can do is stay tuned to see how it turns out.