There seems to be a good number of Los Angeles Lakers fans who are hoping for a blockbuster trade that will bring Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Purple and Gold. According to a recent report, he is again contemplating whether it will be best for him to remain with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Lakers supporters are undoubtedly dreaming of pairing him with Luka Doncic.
But doing so in real life while still fielding a deep, championship-level team would be extremely complicated. It seems a lot more likely that the Lakers will make a less major move in order to improve one of their roster weaknesses, such as their lack of speed, athleticism or 3-point shooting.
Advertisement
According to NBA podcaster Zach Lowe, the second scenario is what one should expect, rather than the former dream scenario.
“I think the Lakers are, like there’s been this dichotomy of either the Lakers stand pat or they try to make some crazy Giannis trade that involves Reaves and all their picks,” Lowe said on his eponymous podcast. “I think there’s a middle ground where the Lakers, there’s some buzz about could they sort of make a fringey trade to try to upgrade this roster. I think as this new ownership comes in, I think they’re trying to maximize this team.”
Los Angeles doesn’t have plenty of attractive trade assets — in fact, according to a recent report by Dan Woike of The Athletic, its future first-round draft picks are seen across the league as less valuable than they used to be due to Doncic’s arrival and subsequent contract extension, as well as the sale of a majority share of the franchise to Mark Walter.
Still, with the way L.A. has been playing overall (it has a 17-7 record), management may be more motivated to make a mild or moderate move to put its roster over the top by springtime.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers will likely look to make ‘fringey’ rather than major trade