The writing is on the wall regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks. Dismayed by the team’s inability to put together a more competitive roster, the two-time NBA MVP is now expected to be traded by the start of next season. To no one’s surprise, the Los Angeles Lakers are one of several teams said to be interested in Antetokounmpo’s services.
Lakers Insider Drops Surprising Update About LeBron James’ NBA Future
On Thursday, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus explored the possibility of Antetokounmpo being traded to the Lakers. In the process, the insider dropped a bombshell. Not about Antetokounmpo, but history-bending hoops icon LeBron James.
“While general manager Rob Pelinka said before the season that he’d like James to retire with the Lakers, the buzz around the NBA is that this will be his final season in Los Angeles (whether he decides to continue playing or call it a career).”
If the Lakers are ultimately able to land Antetokounmpo, then James’s departure will be disappointing but not devastating. Though his guard skills are more refined than the Greek Freak’s, it would be like replacing James with a younger version of himself. Keeping that in perspective, L.A., being led by Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic just a year after that, they were trying to figure out what life after James and Anthony Davis would be like is ideal.
However, nobody can guarantee that the Lakers will be able to acquire Antetokounmpo. As a result, the persistent rumors of James’s intentions to leave Los Angeles could put them in a rather tricky position in the short term.
LeBron James’s Potential In-Season Trade Suitors
At present, Doncic and Austin Reaves are leading the charge offensively, scoring 63.4 points per game combined. Yet, James has four more championship rings than Doncic and Reaves combined. In the playoffs, Doncic and Reaves will want to lean on that experience, even if they don’t need James to do the heavy lifting. That’s not to say that his production won’t matter, though, as he’s averaged 23+ points per game in each postseason.
If James is traded in-season, it would ideally be for a similar player. One with a championship pedigree, an exceptional basketball IQ, and the ability to perform at an All-Star level. That doesn’t leave many options, especially with James’s age and contract.
The Bucks could be willing to move off of Antetokounmpo, focusing on the cap relief they could receive from James’s expiring contract. The New Orleans Pelicans could see that as their way to escape their salary obligations to Zion Williamson. More reasonable is the possibility that the Miami Heat move Andrew Wiggins to make way for James’s return.
Will His Career End In A Full Circle Moment?
Multiple teams could look into moving non-All-Stars for James. The Cleveland Cavaliers could offer up a package headlined by De’Andre Hunter and Jarrett Allen. The Los Angeles Clippers can try to flip John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic in a deal. Similar to a Lakers-Heat trade, James going to the Cavs would be poetic and personal. Flipping to the Clippers would send a message to the Lakers and reunite James with Tyronn Lue
Of course, both the Cavs and Clippers could attempt to add James in the offseason as well. All of that being said, if James were to land with the former, it would be the full-circle moment that players often look for at the end of their career. It doesn’t hurt that Cleveland is a legitimate title-contender, just unable to get over the hump. James could give them the jump start that they need.
