Lakers See Themselves on ‘Short List’ for Giannis Trade to Pair With Luka Doncic

Feb 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Team World forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on during the 75th NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The upcoming NBA offseason will be an important one for the Los Angeles Lakers, as the team will have some opportunities to drastically improve its roster, including key free agents and potentially another superstar to play alongside the new face of the franchise, Luka Doncic.

Along with some intriguing players that could be available this summer in NBA free agency, like Andrew Wiggins and most notably Peyton Watson (restricted free agent), the Lakers will be in the running to acquire superstar big man Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Lakers Believe They'll Be on 'Short List' to Trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Nov 15, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) defends Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

With the Bucks deciding not to move Antetokounmpo before the NBA trade deadline earlier this month, teams will be lining up with trade offers during the summer in an effort to land the two-time NBA MVP.

However, the Lakers' brass believe that they'll be on a "very short list" of teams in the running to acquire the one-time NBA champion, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

The Lakers, team sources told ESPN, obviously see the appeal in Antetokounmpo and believe they would be one of the teams on a very short list if the Bucks star asks for a trade out of Milwaukee.

It'll be interesting to see how the market develops for Antetokounmpo and whether anything changes between now and when teams can wheel and deal during the summer. There's bound to be more developments over the next few months, and potentially other teams expressing interest.

However, the Lakers' brass might be intent on bringing in Antetokounmpo to play alongside Doncic for the foreseeable future, via McMenamin.

A Western Conference executive told ESPN he believes Antetokounmpo is the "big prize" the Lakers hope to land, should the Milwaukee Bucks decide to trade the 2021 NBA Finals MVP in the offseason.

Lakers Head Into Tough Final Stretch

Jan 28, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and forward LeBron James (23) stand on the court in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

In the meantime, the Lakers will focus on the final stretch of the 2025-26 NBA season, with 28 games left before the NBA playoffs begin on April 18.

Currently, ahead of the Lakers getting back to work on Friday against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers, the storied franchise is sitting with a 33-21 record while being in fifth place in the West behind the Houston Rockets (33-20), Denver Nuggets (35-20), San Antonio Spurs (38-16) and Oklahoma City Thunder (42-14).

Even though only a few games separate the Lakers and a higher seed in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves (34-22) and Phoenix Suns (32-23) are right behind them. There will be little room for error for Los Angeles moving forward, as it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they end up in the Play-In Tournament rather than securing their spot in the first round of the postseason.