NBA Insider Hints at Lakers' Plan to Land Giannis Antetokounmpo

The plot thickens in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga, as the superstar big man of the Milwaukee Bucks is now dealing with a calf strain that will keep him sidelined through the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 5. Antetokounmpo is expected to miss four to six weeks with this latest injury, which has some speculating whether he's played his last game for the Bucks.

At this point, all signs seem to be pointing toward an inevitable divorce between the Bucks and the two-time NBA MVP, which is potentially good news for the Los Angeles Lakers if they are intent on trying to bring in Antetokounmp to play alongside fellow superstar Luka Doncic for the foreseeable future. The real question seems to be whether he'll be traded before Feb. 5 or during the summer.

Lakers' Chances of Trading for Giannis to Improve During NBA Offseason

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Lakers and Miami Heat will be in a better position to trade for Antetokounmpo during the NBA offseason, as both teams will have more access to valuable trade assets that could incentivize the Bucks' brass to make a deal.

“If the Bucks hold off until the offseason, teams such as Miami and the Los Angeles Lakers would have access to more tradeable future first-round picks than those teams can put on the table between now and the Feb. 5 trade buzzer," Fischer said.

“If the Bucks hold off until the offseason, teams such as Miami and the Los Angeles Lakers would have access to more tradeable future first-round picks than those teams can put on the table between now and the Feb. 5 trade buzzer," Fischer said.

Although there's still a decent chance of the Lakers making moves ahead of the trade deadline, which is less than two weeks away, the "real work" to improve the team's roster around Doncic will likely happen during the summer, according to Christian Clark and Dan Woike of The Athletic.

"Lakers sources have referenced the time it took for Dallas to build out its most optimized rosters around Dončić, noting that the Lakers need more athleticism, shooting and defense to replicate what was left behind in Dallas," Woike and Clark noted. "No potential move the Lakers make at the deadline will check more than one of those boxes, and some around the team believe the real work will happen in the summer, when the Lakers could have as many as three first-round picks to use in trades to improve the roster."

If longtime general manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers brass feel they have a legitimate shot at landing Antetokounmpo in a trade, and considering the aggressiveness of the new ownership with Mark Walter at the helm, the team may be putting all their efforts into saving its trade assets for what could be a big summer for Los Angeles.