Lakers Among Favorites to Land Former MVP & $228 Million Superstar

Getty James Harden guards Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the favorites to land one of the greatest players in NBA history.

According to the latest odds from Sportsbetting.ag, the Lakers have the seventh-best odds (+800) to acquire Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo if he decides to request a trade. The Bucks lost to the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2023 playoffs in five games.

Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228 million designated maximum contract extension with the Bucks in December 2020. The two-time MVP and seven-time All-Star averaged 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists this season while shooting 55.3% from the field, 27.5% from beyond the arc and 64.5% from the free-throw line in 63 games.

The Bucks were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They were projected to win the Finals by many experts. However, Jimmy Butler and the Heat upset the Bucks in five games, with Antetokounmpo losing to Miami for the second time in the postseason in his career.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Snapped at a Bucks Reporter

During his postgame press conference after Game 5, Antetokounmpo snapped at Eric Nehm of The Athletic, who asked the future Hall of Famer, “Do you view this season as a failure?”

“It’s not a failure,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s steps towards success. There’s always steps to it. Michael Jordan played 15 years. He won six championships. The other nine years, he was a failure? (No.) So why do you ask me that question? It’s the wrong question. There’s no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days. Some days you’re able to be successful. Some days you’re not. Some days it’s your turn. Some days it’s not your turn. And that’s what sports is about. You don’t always win. Some other people are going to win. And this year, somebody else is going to win. Simple as that.

“We’re going to come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better. Not have a 10-day stretch of playing bad basketball. And hopefully, we can win a championship. So, for 50 years, from 1971 until we won in 2021, that we didn’t win a championship, it was 50 years of failure? No, it was not. There were steps to it. And we were able to win one. Hopefully, we can win another one.”

Antetokounmpo hurt his back in Game 1 against the Heat and didn’t play in Games 2 and 3. The one-time Defensive Player of the Year averaged 23.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in the series, but he shot only 45.2% from the free-throw line.

Anthony Davis & Draft Picks for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Under CBA rules, the Lakers could trade Anthony Davis and draft picks to the Bucks for Antetokounmpo. It’s worth mentioning that Davis and LeBron James have the same agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group.

James, 38, signed a two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers last summer. He and Antetokounmpo are friends and have great respect for each other.

“It takes more than skills to be great,” Antetokounmpo said about James at the start of the season. “That’s what people don’t understand. You can be the most skillful person on Earth, still don’t make the NBA. The NBA is not about skills. It takes way more to be. Consistency. LeBron James, 20 years in the league. When you think about LeBron, you think about consistency. He’s been great for 20 years.”