Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers on several occasions.
The 30-year-old NBA champion forward wants to compete for another championship in the present, but hasn’t been able to make a deep postseason run with the Bucks since 2021.
As a result, many have speculated that, considering the Lakers are a team built to win right now, a trade could soon come to fruition.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, Antetokounmpo is still a Buck, but the former lottery pick’s shocking social media decision is great news for the surging Western Conference franchise.
“Giannis has deleted every Instagram post related to the Bucks, keeping only his championship win and the Cup pics up,” Complex Sports reported on X/Twitter Tuesday.
While it’s normally true that it isn’t wise to read too much into social media decisions, Antetokounmpo's recent move clearly indicates there’s a disconnect between him and the 2021 NBA champions.
Antetokounmpo is a fierce competitor who wants to be in title contention as often as possible, which doesn’t appear to be in the cards for him this season.
The Bucks are 9-13 through 22 games and don’t look poised to make significant noise anytime soon.
Conversely, the Lakers are in a spot that many franchises would do anything to be in. Los Angeles was short-handed in October and the start of November, but found a way to win games with its active players.
Now that the franchise’s health has improved, it has taken its winning to an elevated level under second-year coach JJ Redick.
The Lakers, led by Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, are 15-5 to start the year. The writing is on the wall for Antetokounmpo to request a trade from Milwaukee, and the Lakers should rank high on the Athens, Greece native’s list of potential suitors.
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