Lakers could battle Celtics, Knicks for $175 million Bucks star officially on trade market, per report
The Los Angeles Lakers might go all-out for a 10-time All-Star this offseason.
Lakers could battle Celtics, Knicks for $175 million Bucks star officially on trade market, per report originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Los Angeles Lakers are one loss away from beginning their offseason prematurely.
Even if the Lakers manage to win Game 4 vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night and keep their Western Conference Finals hopes alive, overcoming a 3-1 deficit would be highly unlikely. So, assuming the Lakers fall short to the Thunder in the second round of the postseason, the $1 million question would be, what comes next for the Lakers?
ESPN’s Shams Charania recently reported that Los Angeles could battle the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks for a Milwaukee Bucks star forward who’s officially on the trade market. “The Milwaukee Bucks are open for business on trade calls and offers for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo entering the NBA draft combine and over six weeks away from the draft,” Charania stated Monday. “The NBA playoffs represent another landmark point for the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes,” Charania stated Monday.
“Sources said postseason teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves , Cleveland Cavaliers , Boston Celtics, Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers pursued Antetokounmpo at the February deadline, and their finishes to the campaign will play a major factor in their aggressiveness to trade for Antetokounmpo. ” Second-round playoff exits are unacceptable for the Lakers, making it safe to state that the franchise will keep Antetokounmpo on its radar. Acquiring the 10-time All-Star before the trade deadline would have been the best-case scenario, as it would have provided the franchise will higher level of comfort will Doncic in and out of the Lakers’ lineup (Austin Reaves is a talented player, but he’s too shaky of a downhill playmaker and a defensive liability, making it challenging for Los Angeles to lean on him in their current playoff series).