Time is ticking for the Los Angeles Lakers to improve their roster with a trade.
If the Lakers fail to make a move by next Thursday, they’ll officially be forced to move forward with their current roster. While it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, it wouldn’t give Los Angeles the best chance to compete for a championship this season.
Luckily, Lake Show Life’s Maxwell Ogden has a trade idea for the franchise that would alter the Western Conference landscape. In Ogden’s trade idea, the Lakers would receive a two-time MVP, send Austin Reaves to the Milwaukee Bucks, and LeBron James to a third team.
“Giannis (Antetokounmpo) to Los Angeles, Reaves to Milwaukee, LeBron to third team,” Ogden wrote Wednesday.
“Reaves is a 27-year-old guard in the midst of a season during which he's averaging 26.6 points, 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 2.7 three-point field goals made per game. Prior to the calf injury that's cost him every game since Christmas, he was a legitimate candidate for a first career All-Star nod.”
“Considering Reaves has improved his season averages in points, assists, rebounds, and three-point field goals made every year he's been in the NBA, there's reason to believe he can improve even further. That makes him a player Lakers fans would likely be unwilling to lose, but it's also why he could appeal to the Bucks.”
While it would be more likely to witness Antetokounmpo land with a different franchise this season, the Lakers’ star power and natural appeal to players searching for a new NBA home could help them land the 31-year-old star.
An Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic duo would undoubtedly keep opponents up at night.
The two superstars dominate games in their own respective ways (Antetokounmpo excels when exploding to the rim and applies instant pressure on defenders, and Doncic is a methodical guard who’s mastered the art of manipulating opponents), which would make them an electric duo in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future.
Will Rob Pelinka be bold enough to make a trade happen? We’ll find out in the next few days.
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