The Milwaukee Bucks are one game away from postseason elimination, with Game 5 taking place on Tuesday evening in Indiana against the Pacers.
With that said, rumors around Bucks franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo have already begun swirling. Antetokounmpo has been loyal to the Bucks since they drafted him in 2013, but it may be time for him to pursue his second championship elsewhere.
Assuming the two-time MVP does ask out, retired NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer predicted on ESPN's Get Up that he could team up with fellow European superstar Luka Doncic on the Los Angeles Lakers.
"If Giannis doesn't want to come back to Milwaukee, that would revitalize the Miami fanbase. They don't have that guy. That's what we were talking about with Houston," Boozer shared of Antetokounmpo's possible fit with the Miami Heat or Houston Rockets. "If I'm Giannis, maybe I'd play with Luka, maybe go to L.A. Ay, I'm just saying if he wants to win."
There are two huge obstacles with Boozer's pitch. Firstly, there is the Lakers' lack of assets to send back to Milwaukee. They have truly exhausted almost all of their assets in the last five years, meaning Antetokounmpo would need to request a trade specifically to the Lakers, and the Bucks would need to be willing to respect that. Teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Rockets could offer much more appealing return packages to the front office.
Secondly, there is the financial side. Unless the unlikely scenario that LeBron James retires takes place after this season, it feels near impossible to have him, Doncic, and Antetokounmpo on the roster. However, in the NBA, there is seemingly always a loophole in the salary cap, especially for a team playing in Los Angeles.
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Let's set aside these two factors for a moment to simply discuss the Bucks superstar's fit with the Lakers. Antetokounmpo and Doncic would form arguably the most skilled duo in NBA history, competing with the likes of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
It's hard to imagine the Lakers being anything but championship favorites for years to come if Boozer's scenario ever comes true.
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