There's only 1 combination of Lakers players to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo without LeBron

Billy Heyen

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There's only 1 combination of Lakers players to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo without LeBron image

Nearly a year ago, the Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA by trading for Luka Doncic.

What if they did it again and traded for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo?

It wouldn't be quite as shocking as the Luka trade that no one saw coming. Reports have indicated the Bucks may indeed move Giannis.

It'd be just as league-altering, though. Antetokounmpo remains one of the best players on the planet.

Lineups that included Luka, Giannis and LeBron James would be historically epic.

Could this really truly happen? There's pretty much only one way without losing LeBron in the salary match.

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The 1 Lakers-Bucks trade for Giannis that works

There would almost certainly have to be future first-round picks involved going from the Lakers to the Bucks, too, but this is the four-player combination that works as a match in return for Giannis thanks to the NBA's salary rules:

  • Austin Reaves
  • Rui Hachimura
  • Jarred Vanderbilt
  • Gabe Vincent

There are ways to sort of get there if you use Maxi Kleber instead of either Vanderbilt or Vincent, but considering that he's an even lesser asset than those two at this point, that doesn't seem likely.

The Bucks would have to be very high on Reaves, who admittedly is a fantastic player, to even think about pulling the trigger there. 

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The Lakers can trade their 2029 and 2031 first-round picks, but if the Bucks believe Luka and Giannis would still be teammates in Hollywood at that point, then those wouldn't be particularly valuable.

So yes, the Lakers have a feasible way to pull off a Giannis trade before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. But it's probably not a way the Bucks would go for.

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