Mar 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dunks against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
SHARE
The Los Angeles Lakers are going to need to make moves this offseason in order to build a contender around Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. The 2025 NBA Playoffs showed just how far away they are from that, as they lost in five games in the first round. In the other conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks were sent home in five games by the Indiana Pacers in the first round as well.
This is the third consecutive year that Antetokounmpo’s Bucks were eliminated in the first round, but the first where Giannis played the entire series healthy. He was dominant as well, averaging 33.0 points, 15.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game during the series. But it wasn’t enough, as the Bucks simply don’t have a good enough roster to compete at a high level.
Each year the Bucks have lost early, rumors have grown louder and louder about Giannis’ future in Milwaukee. And this offseason seems to be the first time where a trade request is legitimately on the table. If it is, the Lakers could reportedly be on his list of preferred teams, according to Howard Beck via the Zach Lowe Show:
“Does Giannis ask out? If he does, does he have a list? I poked around a little bit a few days ago and the initial thing I got from one person was just like some rumblings that it’s already just the big cities: One of the L.A. teams or one of the New York teams or maybe Miami, not a big market, but a glamour market, mid-size market. I think they threw Chicago in there. I can’t remember if Houston came up, it should. So first is like where does Giannis want to go and do they honor that? Because again, back to Damian Lillard, you’re not obligated to honor it. The second piece is then what does the bidding war look like?”
It’s not too shocking that Antetokounmpo seems to be in on the big market teams should he ask for a trade. He was on record saying he loved Doncic’s move to Los Angeles and that he wanted all the international stars to play in the biggest markets.
However, the Lakers trading for Giannis is extremely unlikely. Just to get to the money required to make a legal trade, it would cost the Lakers nearly their entire core roster. And even then, with every available draft pick, other teams can still easily outbid L.A.
Of course, after Doncic, nothing feels impossible. But Antetokounmpo would likely need to force his way to the Lakers specifically in order to make that happen. Or the Bucks would need to really love the pieces L.A. can send back.
Lakers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka has come under a lot of scrutiny over the years for some of the moves he’s made. This season, however, there is little debate that he pulled off multiple deals that greatly improved the Lakers overall.
For his efforts, Pelinka did get some recognition in NBA Executive of the Year voting. The league announced that Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder was the winner, but Pelinka received five votes total, one of which was a first-place vote, and finished sixth overall.