Perhaps if the Los Angeles Lakers had a more realistic chance of landing a transformational superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo down the line they would be more hesitant to make short-term additions.
However, the Milwaukee Bucks star has been primarily connected to the New York Knicks, and Lakers insider Jovan Buha (54-minute mark, h/t Hoops Hype) reported Los Angeles might be “more open to a short-term move” as a result:Â
“Giannis Antetokounmpo has left the door cracked open, but we’ve since had the reporting that Giannis’ preferred destination was the Knicks, not the Lakers, and that it was really one team he was considering, and that was specifically the Knicks. I wonder if the Lakers recent shift toward being more of a kind of short-term or like win-now mode is maybe in part due to DonÄić’s success at Eurobasket, but I think more so maybe gaining some intel that some of the big fish that they were hoping to catch are not going to be available or as available as they thought.Â
“I think the Lakers got to be careful with how they position themselves for the future because if it’s tough to find a Knicks-Giannis trade. So if that for whatever reason just can’t happen and Milwaukee refuses to play ball with New York because they just they don’t want to trade him in conference, they don’t like what New York’s offering, then the Lakers can swoop in and potentially offer a competitive package. … You got to be careful with the cap space, but it does seem like the Lakers are a little bit more open to a short-term move.”
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the Knicks were “the only place Antetokounmpo wanted to play outside of Milwaukee,” which led to trade discussions between the two teams.
Yet those discussions “never got traction” as “those in Milwaukee believe New York did not make a strong enough offer” while the Knicks did not think the Bucks “were serious about entertaining an Antetokounmpo trade.”
From the Lakers’ perspective, a short-term move could help them capitalize on the upcoming season with DonÄić and LeBron James still paired together. The King is 40 years old and entering the final season of his deal, so the organization’s focus will likely eventually turn to building a winner around DonÄić.
Los Angeles’ front office will surely evaluate how things are unfolding in the loaded Western Conference ahead of the February trade deadline and re-assess accordingly, but a quick start could make it more likely to focus on win-now moves with one of the league’s best one-two punches in DonÄić and James leading the way.
That is especially true if the front office wouldn’t be sacrificing a realistic chance of landing a two-time MVP like Antetokounmpo with such a move.
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