Could the Los Angeles Lakers or Golden State Warriors trade for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo?

The Milwaukee Bucks flamed out in the first round of the NBA playoffs, and now they could be on the verge of making league-shaking changes.

After 12 years in Milwaukee, two-time NBA MVP winner Giannis Antetokounmpo could be on his way out. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to a championship in 2021, but after three consecutive first-round exits, his time in Milwaukee certainly seems to be winding down.

Milwaukee is reportedly “taking steps” to prepare for Antetokounmpo’s potential departure, but there seems to be only a few trade destinations that can actually make a move for the superstar forward.

It has been clear that if Antetokounmpo leaves Milwaukee, he wants to play in a bigger market, but only a handful of those teams have the assets to even send a respectful offer to the Bucks. Two bigger markets that could potentially attempt a move for Antetokounmpo are the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

However, they still might not have enough to trade for Antetokounmpo. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that the Lakers and Warriors may have enough to make an offer for Antetokounmpo, but not enough to get into a bidding war.

“The Lakers or the Warriors couldn’t win a bidding war if the market’s open — no way they could win a bidding war,” Windhorst said. “If Giannis went in and said, ‘I want to be with Steph Curry. That’s who I want to play with.’ Is there a deal that could happen between those two teams? Yes. I would be lying to you if I told you the Warriors couldn’t trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.”

A Warriors’ trade for Antetokounmpo would get very tricky, as Golden State would still try to keep their new star duo of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler intact, but a guy like Draymond Green would potentially be a casualty.

If the Lakers were able to build a trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Antetokounmpo, it would be a no-brainer, but they have minimal assets as well. If Antetokounmpo makes his way to either the Lakers or Warriors, they would be building a superteam, but that possibility remains very slim.