Regardless of how well the Los Angeles Lakers do in this year’s NBA playoffs, plenty of their fans are hoping that living legend Giannis Antetokounmpo will force his way to the Purple and Gold this summer.
It is generally believed that Antetokounmpo, one way or another, will be traded by the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason, even though he hasn’t officially requested to be traded. There have been some reports that the Lakers could be an option for him, but other reports have suggested that at least two teams, in particular the New York Knicks and Miami Heat, are ahead of the Lakers on his list of preferred destinations.
Something the future Hall of Famer recently said may have implied that he doesn’t really want to end up with the Lakers, however. He was asked whether he prefers Miami or Los Angeles as a vacation spot, and he emphatically said Miami while calling L.A. “superficial.”
Even if Antetokounmpo has a change of heart and demands specifically to be traded to the Lakers, making a trade work won’t be easy. For starters, the Lakers may not have enough assets to complete a transaction that Milwaukee would deem satisfactory. At a minimum, he would cost three first-round draft picks, including their first-rounder this June. That, plus any players given up, would leave L.A. with little or no remaining trade capital.
Plus, how much salary cap flexibility would L.A. have remaining after such a trade to assemble a championship-caliber team around Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic? It could be forced to fill out its roster with several players on veteran minimum contracts, which would mean settling for players who are near the end of their careers and won’t be able to contribute much.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s comment may mean he won’t want to be a Laker
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
