Feb. 4, 2026, 12:09 a.m. PT

On Tuesday, several trades went down across the NBA, and with Thursday’s deadline just hours away, there could be more trades coming. Of course, the one player everyone still has their eyes on is Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It won’t be easy for the Bucks to consummate what they would consider a satisfactory trade involving Antetokounmpo by the 3 p.m. Eastern time deadline on Thursday, but it could happen. Right now, the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves seem to be the biggest suitors for the two-time MVP, with the New York Knicks and Miami Heat lurking.

The Los Angeles Lakers are thought to be another team that is intent on landing him, but they don’t have nearly enough assets right now to make such a deal happen. If Antetokounmpo ends up getting dealt this summer, however, they would reportedly become a “very viable threat,” per NBA insider Marc Stein.

“No one is talking about the Lakers as a factor in The Giannis Sweepstakes right now because they’re not a factor if a trade is going to happen by week’s end. They don’t have enough tradeable assets to join the in-season bidders.

“But if the Bucks do ultimately decide to take this saga into that spring …The Lakers, league sources say, would then indeed become a very viable threat to land No. 34.

“There is little choice for the Lakers, heading into Thursday’s deadline, except to stay patient and avoid deals that involve any long-term salary to maintain maximum flexibility for the spring. The hope for the purple-and-gold would then be to use their considerable projected salary cap space to be able to take in a contract like Antetokounmpo’s via trade — or another expensive star if one shakes loose post-playoffs — to pair with backcourt cornerstones Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves (who returned to action Tuesday night in Brooklyn after a 19-game injury absence). And dealing with the Lakers in such a scenario would almost certainly spare the Bucks from getting saddled with unwanted contracts.”

Once the new league year starts, the Lakers will be able to offer two future first-round draft picks, as well as the rights to their 2026 first-round pick, in any trade. At the same time, it is unknown if Antetokounmpo has or will have the Lakers on the list of teams he would be willing to be traded to.

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It is important to note that he can opt out of his contract in the summer of 2027 and become a free agent. That means he will have some leverage in terms of where he ends up.

Still, given how the Lakers have operated under the leadership of governor Jeanie Buss, one should expect them to do whatever they can to acquire him if there is any chance of them landing him. On the other hand, with Mark Walter now the majority owner of the franchise, there is always a chance it adopts a different mindset as far as how to become a championship-caliber team again.