Victor Wembanyama's transcendent performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals will be talked about for many years to come, especially if Wemby is about to embark on an extended stretch of being the NBA's most dominant player since prime LeBron James.
Seeing as Wemby's in the West, the Lakers -- looking to build a contender around Luka Dončić -- have Wemby-influenced team-building points to consider. For example, centers who can't shoot (like Isaiah Hartenstein or Mitchell Robinson) can no longer be targeted by the Lakers as priorities. Those kinds of big men are liabilities against Wemby because they allow Victor to patroll the paint defensively and protect the rim for all 24 seconds of the shot clock.
And forget about his defense for a moment, there's also the difficulty of defending Wemby for a team like the Lakers to worry about in the years to come.
Wemby's arrival as a perennial MVP candidate makes Giannis an intriguing fit for the Lakers all over again
Looking around the NBA at bodies to put on Wemby defensively, there aren't many options. OKC's Chet Holmgren isn't cutting it. Even an impossibly strong center like Jalen Duren just isn't long enough (even at 6-foot-10) to bother Wemby around the rim. The list goes on, and I'm talking about All-Star-caliber players who don't stand a chance when it comes to impacting Wemby's ability to score.
Giannis Antetokounmpo stands out as perhaps the most viable player capable of containing Wembanyama in a one-on-one matchup, as Giannis possesses other-worldly length, strength, and athleticism, that -- while not extraterrestrial level like Wemby -- comes as close to Victor as almost anything else in the Association.
Should the Lakers re-consider trading for Giannis this offseason?
The Lakers were connected to Antetokounmpo in trade buzz this past season (and they were one of the teams to legitimately inquire after Giannis at the deadline, per new intel from ESPN's Shams Charania), but things have cooled off on that front of late, both due to other Giannis suitors surging ahead and due to the Lakers' imminent cap space problem.
If the Lakers were to sign Austin Reaves to a max deal this summer, as well as re-sign LeBron James, they wouldn't have much cap space leftover to build a contender. A trade for Giannis -- if that were even feasible at that point -- would only place the Lakers in a similar position that they've been in so far with Luka on the squad ... cap-heavy at the top and lacking depth.
Luka and Giannis are a great fit, but it's not going to happen in LA
I actually love the Giannis-Luka fit anywhere and was once imagining that it would happen in Dallas. But the timing of that partnership just doesn't align right now for the Lakers, mostly because LeBron is still playing (and worth a significant salary still that the Lakers are most likely going to pay).
I'd love to see the Lakers snag Giannis once LeBron retires and build around Luka and Giannis, but then again, the timing for that isn't amazing, either, as Giannis will be in his mid-thirties at that point and possibly past his prime.
Unless the Lakers are prepared to punt on LeBron right now and punt on Reaves (via sign-and-trade in a Giannis deal), Giannis doesn't make sense. If Pelinka found a way to do all of that and the Lakers had Giannis and Luka on their roster to begin next season, though, you wouldn't hear anything but praise for Pelinka coming out of my mouth.
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