After the trade deadline lapsed for the 2025-26 season, Giannis Antetokounmpo reconfirmed his loyalty to Milwaukee by announcing that he’s not leaving this season, as four teams were reportedly in the race to make offers for him to the Bucks’ front office.
But as it was confirmed that he can no longer be moved this season, speculations began of what the Bucks’ front office might do in the offseason. Among the interested teams, the Lakers have emerged as a new potential landing spot for the Greek superstar.
Rumors speculated Giannis’ desire to play on a big market team, and that the Lakers could offer as much as three of their own first-round picks in the summer (2028, 2031, 2033).
Another report now claims that Antetokounmpo has always been intrigued by the idea of playing alongside LeBron James. According to Ashish Mathur of the Lakers Daily, the team in purple and gold will aggressively try to pursue Antetokounmpo in the offseason.
“The Lakers will aggressively pursue a trade for Antetokounmpo this offseason, and sources told Lakers Daily that Antetokounmpo has ‘always wanted’ to play with and learn from LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer,” wrote Mathur in his latest report.
In all fairness, there have been multiple reports claiming Antetokounmpo is interested in playing with the star players on major teams like Bam Adebayo on the Heat and Anthony Edwards on the Timberwolves.
Therefore, such a report does not confirm that Giannis will ask to be traded to the Lakers if the Bucks front office takes his preference into account. Moreover, Antetokounmpo does not have a no-trade clause and thus cannot veto his way out of a trade.
But considering that he will be on an expiring contract in the offseason, teams will likely only make the move for him if he plans to stay with them long term. Even though Antetokounmpo is no longer eligible for the MVP race, he is still averaging MVP-caliber numbers.
So far this season, he has averaged 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists while shooting 64.5% from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arc. He is expected to earn $58.5 million in salaries for the 2026-27 season.
If the Lakers manage to sign LeBron James to a contract extension that keeps him on the Lakers for a much lesser salary, then maybe he can be a contributing factor to lure Antetokounmpo to Los Angeles to also pair him up in the long term with Luka Doncic.
While the Bucks’ front office still hopes that they can retain the Greek superstar by drafting some top-tier talent and building a championship-contending team around him, they are also open to the realistic possibility of needing to move Antetokounmpo.
