Why Lakers Shouldn’t Let This Kel’el Ware Opportunity Slip Away After Giannis Trade

The first major domino has finally fallen during the NBA offseason, with the Milwaukee Bucks trading superstar big man Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat in a deal that didn’t involve the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was widely speculated that the Giannis trade would involve three or more teams, with the Lakers potentially throwing their hat in the ring to upgrade their roster with a player or two from the Heat.

Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Milwaukee struck a deal directly with Miami that included this massive trade package involving notable players and draft picks, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Milwaukee Bucks are trading franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks (including No. 13 in Tuesday's NBA draft), one pick swap and one second-round pick, sources told ESPN.

Kel’el Ware Still Might Be an Option for Lakers

With the Lakers having the No. 25 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, which gets underway on June 23, there were rumors that they could try to get involved in his deal and potentially address their need at center by acquiring Kel’el Ware.

Obviously, that didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean the Lakers are out of the running to land Ware in a trade if the Bucks are willing to flip the talented young center.

Recently, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst made the case for the Lakers to pick up the phone and try to acquire Ware if he’s traded to the Bucks.

“Big man who can stretch the floor, high energy, block shots,” Windhorst said of the versatile young center. “There would be quite a few teams interested in Kel’el Ware if he got shipped to Milwaukee and they were willing to flip him. If I were the Lakers and Kel’el got shipped to Milwaukee, I’d be on the phone.”

Milwaukee is clearly in rebuild mode with the Wisconsin native Tyler Herro now being the star attraction for the Bucks. That said, piling up draft picks might be the way to go, especially if they have their eyes on a player late in the first round of this year's draft.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Lakers have been linked with “trade interest” in Ware over the last couple of days.

In addition, the Los Angeles Lakers were linked with trade interest in Kel’el Ware over the past couple of days, sources said.

Clearly, the Lakers are interested in Ware’s services, but it remains to be seen whether the Bucks will consider flipping him to Los Angeles.

Why Kel'el Ware is the Ideal Center for Lakers

Mar 30, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) dunks against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Ware checks a lot of boxes for the Lakers, as he is on a rookie contract while being 22 years old. He can protect the rim and be the lob threat the team is looking for, as well as stretch the floor with a newly developed outside shot.

Also, the Lakers might be able to acquire Ware with their No. 25 overall pick unless the Bucks are enamored with the Indiana Hoosiers product.

Although the Lakers will have some other intriguing options to upgrade the center position this summer, with restricted free agents Walker Kessler and Jalen Duren, and unrestricted free agents Mitchell Robinson and Robert Williams III being the players frequently linked to the storied franchise, Ware might be the best option out there, considering the circumstances.

Ware is coming off a career year with the Heat, averaging career-high numbers in points (11.1), rebounds (9.0), blocks (1.1) and steals (0.8) per game while shooting 53 percent from the field and a career-best 39.5 percent from beyond the arc.

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