Like most other teams in the league, the Los Angeles Lakers are sitting back and wondering what will happen with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Is there a way that the Lakers could trade for Giannis a year after landing Luka Dončić? Zach Lowe doesn't believe so. On "The Zach Lowe Show," he said, "I don't think they have enough to get Giannis."
For the Lakers to get Giannis, the Bucks would 100 percent demand Austin Reaves in return. He should be off-limits, except for Giannis, that is. None of this talk about the Lakers and Giannis will probably matter, as the Bucks could look to get better offers from other teams, including the Thunder, as scary as that sounds. San Antonio is another team that comes to mind, but the Spurs are 17-7, and did well even with Victor Wembanyama sidelined.
Giannis should have a say in where he goes, as his current contract runs through the 2027-28 season (a $62.8 million player option). He will be eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million extension next October, whether that be with Milwaukee or another team. A team that goes all-in for Giannis would want assurance that he'd re-sign with them.
One would assume that Giannis likes the idea of playing alongside Dončić in LA, but that doesn't mean that's where he'll end up. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.
Zach Lowe says Lakers don't have enough to trade for Giannis
Los Angeles will still do its due diligence on a Giannis trade if he decides that he wants to leave Milwaukee. The last thing ESPN's Shams Charania reported was that Giannis and his agent were discussing his future with the team. Since then, he suffered a calf strain, so he's currently sidelined. Luckily, the injury wasn't worse than it seemed.
The Bucks did discuss a Giannis trade over the summer, but that was with the Knicks, which, at the time, was the only other team he wanted to play for. That could still be the case, but like LA, New York can't make Milwaukee the kind of offer that would sway the front office to send him to the Knicks, who are currently the second-best team in the East. Would they want to switch things up midseason?
Maybe Giannis will wait to request a trade until the offseason, when it'd be far less chaotic without the regular season craziness. That would also allow the Bucks to know which teams have which picks in the 2026 draft.
Whatever happens, the Lakers will be in the Giannis conversation, but whether they'd actually be able to trade for him is another story.