The Los Angeles Lakers hit the jackpot when the Dallas Mavericks came calling to offer young superstar Luka Doncic. While there are no signs that the Lakers are anything but loyal to Luka, the growing uncertainty regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future has given the Lakers a unique opportunity. According to insider Jovan Buha, while he would bet on Luka’s youth and potential, there is much to be gained for the Lakers by potentially adding Giannis to the fold as their new main attraction.
“I think Giannis is currently the better player,” said Jovan Buha. “I don’t think that’s always been the case, they are pretty close in my opinion, but the big factor for me is that Luka’s four years younger than Giannis. Giannis has been a beacon of health, but you wonder how long that can sustain… I would rather bet on the long-term upside and the longer window with Luka.”
Trading Luka less than a year after trading for him would certainly be a bad look for the Lakers, and it would be unprecedented treatment for any superstar player. Despite his status as one of the best stars in the game right now, Doncic was already betrayed once by his former team when they shipped him to Los Angeles without warning.
The Lakers have maintained their loyalty to Luka ever since his arrival, but with the rising availability of Giannis Antetokounmpo, some have been calling for the Lakers to make the ultimate trade: Doncic to the Bucks for Giannis.
As Giannis reconsiders his loyalties, the situation has never been more uncertain for Milwaukee, and if they want the best return they can get, it’s hard to do better than Luka Doncic. In six seasons in the NBA, the 26-year-old guard is already a 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA player, and former scoring champion.
In the 2024-25 campaign, he averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game on 43.8% shooting. In 28 games for the Lakers, he gave everything in the pursuit of a title, but the fans only felt disappointment after an embarrassing elimination in the first round.
Meanwhile, concerns about Luka’s defense and conditioning continue to loom after the Mavericks revealed their true motivation for sending him away. In the Mavs’ eyes, Luka failed as a leader, and his consistent show of poor work ethic set a bad example for everyone on the team.
Conversely, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been compared to Kobe Bryant and other competitors when it comes to his approach. Besides a preference for loyalty, Giannis is a man of action who will never struggle to outwork his peers in the gym.
Plus, as one of the best two-way players in the game, Giannis’ arrival would make LA a much better defensive team, and we’ve seen in the past how defense is often the key to the Lakers’ success.
In the end, a Luka for Giannis swap is extremely unlikely given how loyal those teams are to their current superstars. Still, if Giannis is serious about potentially leaving the Bucks this summer, we can expect the Lakers to at least pay their due diligence on any potential offer. By all accounts, he might be an even better fit than Luka, and he’d be in a perfect position to take over after LeBron James retires.
