While there’s still more work to be done, the Los Angeles Lakers should feel good about the way they’re progressing thus far.
Luka Doncic, a 35.2 points per game scorer, has been everything the Lakers expected and more, toying with opponents nightly and leading the franchise to an impressive 15-5 start to the year.
Austin Reaves, a 28.1 points per game scorer, has been just as good, putting the Lakers on his back when Doncic and LeBron James were sidelined with injuries and making a legitimate All-Star case.
Still, that doesn’t mean a midseason blockbuster trade is out of the picture for the organization.
In a massive three-team trade idea centered around Reaves and crafted by Hoops Hallow's Ryan Lucas, the Lakers would land a 6-foot-11 Milwaukee Bucks superstar to alter the Western Conference landscape.
In Lucas’s mesmerizing trade concept, the Bucks would receive Jonathan Kuminga, Reaves, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Dalton Knecht, and five future first-round pick swaps, the Golden State Warriors would receive James and a 2032 second-round pick, and the Lakers would receive the Antetokounmpo clan (Giannis and Thanasis), Buddy Hield, and Al Horford.
Parting ways with Reaves after his emergence as the Lakers’ dynamic No. 2 scoring option likely wouldn’t sit well with some of the organization’s fanbase.
Reaves’ fit with Los Angeles has continued to improve with time, and his electric partnership with Doncic suggests positive results could occur during the postseason.
However, a player like Antetokounmpo doesn’t come around too often. The 30-year-old's unique combination of upper-body strength, gazelle-like speed, and effortless vertical athleticism makes him an asset worth trading for, regardless of the circumstances.
With Antetokounmpo reportedly requesting a trade from Milwaukee, the Lakers should be optimistic about a potential deal materializing, considering they have the assets to entice the 2021 NBA champions.
Antetokounmpo, averaging 30.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 6.4 assists this season, could find himself competing with Los Angeles at some point this season.
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