The Lakers’ offseason plans are riddled with questions over LeBron James and Austin Reaves’ future, along with their plans to make changes to the roster in the coming summer.
Amid the uncertainty over the 41-year-old’s future with the team, Shams Charania has revealed that the Lakers are also expected to be in the race for Giannis Antetokounmpo, since the Bucks are listening to offers.
The senior NBA insider appeared on the Rich Eisen show and gave an update on the Lakers’ offseason plans and the Greek star’s future in Milwaukee.
“I don’t necessarily think that the Giannis and LeBron situations are intertwined,” said Charania when Rich Eisen asked him about the possibility of seeing both superstars on the same team. “Giannis’ situation has been playing out for now, we’re at 12 months by the time, you know, assuming he is traded.”
“So, Rich, this is where everything is at. The Milwaukee Bucks are officially open for business. They are engaging with teams. They’re talking to teams. They’re getting teams’ best offers between now and the NBA draft, and they will make a decision.”
“The biggest point that you need to know in all this, Rich, is that Giannis, for a period of months, has made it clear to the Bucks, to the parties that need to know that he is ready. He believes the time has come for both sides to part ways and move on from each other.”
“And what I’ve learned since Jimmy Haslam came out and said, ‘Listen, it’s going to be either he commits to an extension in June, or we’re going to trade him in June,'” Charania added on Antetokounmpo’s rising tension with the Bucks’ ownership.
“Since then, nothing has changed about his stance. And so that would lead you to believe that the Bucks will then obviously seriously consider these offers, that they are officially open for business.”
“And you know, you’re going to see teams like Miami, Minnesota, Boston, and the Lakers. The Lakers expressed interest in Giannis at the deadline. Right now, what they’ll be able to offer is three first-round picks in cap space and essentially absorb Giannis’s contract.”
“Now, if you’re the Bucks, are you just going to trade Giannis to the Lakers for cap space for three first-round picks? Like, my sense is they’re going to get better in the marketplace than that. I think there’s a bigger appetite than that. And so, time will tell.”
According to reports, the Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic’s only contention with the Lakers being in the market for Giannis Antetokounmpo is that Austin Reaves should not be a part of the trade package offered.
Anybody else on the roster is up for grabs, but it is unlikely that players like Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Dalton Knecht in a trade package with the three first-round picks would move the needle for the Bucks.
The ideal scenario for the Lakers would be a three-team trade where they involve another team to potentially facilitate a deal where the Greek superstar lands in Los Angeles.
Charania then dove into LeBron James’ future with the team. He claimed that while the Lakers expect him to come back, the 41-year-old could be leaning towards experiencing a full free agency and listening to offers from several contenders before he makes a decision.
“We’ll know in the next six weeks, but LeBron’s future is a little bit different because LeBron is 41 years old, just finished his 23rd season. He’s going to take the next few weeks to figure out exactly how he wants, potentially his final year to play out.”
“All the indications I’ve gotten over the course of the year are that he’s going to play one more season, where, how much of it all, like that. That’s all, obviously, going to be a factor. Is it going to be LA? That’s got to be probably his preference if he wants to be home.”
“And you know, as far as where his home base is now, and the Lakers have made it clear that they want him back, and so we’ll see how that mutual potential interest culminates over the next month or so.”
“But the one thing I do know is that multiple contenders are already kind of circling here, as if LeBron is really going to hit the open market and decide and have a true free agency.”
“He’s not going to have a shortage of teams that feel like, listen, we’ll go get LeBron. We’ll plug him in as our starting power forward or small forward, and like, let’s go try to win a ring,” Charania concluded.
LeBron James has teased a homecoming to the Cavaliers, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has also expressed his inclination to stay in the Eastern Conference. So there is a realistic chance that the Lakers could have a LeBron James-sized hole in their roster and they miss out on a chance to replace him with the Greek superstar.
The rumor mill has shown reports that the Lakers are not expected to make any major changes to their roster this offseason. But running it back with the same team to expect a different result may not be the best solution.
In my opinion, it is unlikely that Giannis Antetokounmpo will come to the Lakers, but everyone felt the same way about Luka Doncic joining the Lakers before he eventually did. Therefore, anything can happen.
But if James re-signs with the team, it will certainly be a lot more difficult to figure out a viable package without including Austin Reaves in the mix. All eyes are now on Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office to figure out the best route for the team.
