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Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors hugs LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers after their game at Chase Center.
The Los Angeles Lakers don’t appear to go down without swinging ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline, as they’ve been linked to numerous players in trade rumors, all of whom appear to be unavailable.
However, while the Lakers appear out of the race to land Milwaukee Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo, at least for now, a very interesting update has emerged on how they could be involved in a blockbuster deal that would see the superstar land elsewhere.
According to recent reports, the Golden State Warriors are more keen on moving Draymond Green rather than Jimmy Butler in a trade for Antetokounmpo. However, Green isn’t interested in staying in Milwaukee, and per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Lakers could be a landing spot for the four-time champion, and be a third team in a deal that sees Golden State land the Greek Freak.
Lakers ‘Mutual Interest‘ In Draymond Green Amid Warriors-Giannis Trade Rumors
Speaking on Get Up, Windhorst said he believes there is ‘mutual interest‘ between Green and the Lakers.
“If he were traded, his plan would not be to remain in Milwaukee. He would want to be moved on. A team that would be possible if he were traded. I can’t emphasize the number of ‘ifs’ I’ve said enough before I say this, but the Los Angeles Lakers would be a team he would have interest in and they would have interest in him,” Windhorst said. “But that would require the Bucks to take action on Giannis.”
The Lakers appear out of the race to land Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline, but as Green doesn’t want to stay in Milwaukee, they could easily facilitate a move to add him while sending some of their young talent back to the Bucks. The Warriors would still take on a brunt of the trade package, moving most of their young players and draft assets, but with the links between Green and Los Angeles, should Golden State move him, the Lakers could be his landing spot.
Additionally, Green recently expressed an interest in playing with both his longtime rival and friend, LeBron James. On the court, the two have a strong history of beef, but off the court, the two appear to be very close. Recently, speaking with Melissa Rohlin of the California Post, Green said he’s ‘always wanted‘ to play with the league’s all-time leading scorer.
Draymond Green says he wants to experience playing with LeBron James
“I’ve always wanted to [play with him]. Saying I wanted to go to his team, that’s not the case. I’m very comfortable in my situation with 30 [Curry] and what we’ve built and what we have. But I think him and
“I‘ve always wanted to [play with him],” Green said. “Saying I wanted to go to his team, that’s not the case. I’m very comfortable in my situation with 30 [Curry] and what we’ve built and what we have. But I think him and Steph shared the want to take the court together, and they got the opportunity to do that in the Olympics in Paris. I’ve always wanted the opportunity. Just to experience it, to see how he thinks, to see, all right, what I could do to help him and his thinking. Or what can I learn and pick up about what he’s thinking?“
For now, the links between Green and the Lakers are worth watching, as his time in Golden State appears to be dwindling, especially if Antetokounmpo is ready to become a Warrior.
Lakers Giannis Trade Rumors
At this point in the trade cycle, as mentioned, the Lakers are not one of the teams vying to land Antetokounmpo before the deadline. They weren’t named by Shams Charania as either having a strong package or actively in discussions with the Bucks to land him, but that doesn’t mean they should be ruled out of making the blockbuster trade this summer.
Based on the available assets, the Lakers are by no means in the race to get the superstar at the deadline, but according to NBA insider Marc Stein, they should seriously be considered in the running, should the Bucks choose to keep him until the offseason.
“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,” Stein wrote. “They don’t have enough tradeable assets to join the in-season bidders.”
The Lakers are a real threat for Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason if he isn’t traded by the deadline, per @TheSteinLine
“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
“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.”
This summer, Los Angeles has three more available first-round picks they can trade, compared to just the one they can move by the deadline. The Lakers have never had trouble landing superstars through trades or in free agency, so they should seriously be considered in the running for Antetokounmpo, should a team like the Warriors not land him by 3 pm EST on February 5th.
Additionally, the Lakers keep striking out on their other trade targets. They’ve been linked to players across the league, but as Jake Fischer reported, the team appears focused on having cap flexibility this summer, rather than making a rash decision at the deadline.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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