Shams Charania finally put a price tag on what the Lakers are willing to do for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The number is not impressive.
Speaking on “The Rich Eisen Show” this week, Charania said the Lakers can offer the No. 25 pick in this year’s draft along with two unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033. They can also throw in pick swaps and cap flexibility to absorb Giannis’s contract.
That is the package. That is the entire pitch.
If you are the Milwaukee Bucks, you laugh, you hang up, you call literally anyone else. The Lakers offer does not move the needle for a franchise that is about to lose a 31-year-old former MVP who already won them a title.
The problem is twofold. First, picks in 2031 and 2033 from a team that just signed Luka Doncic to a long-term extension and has Austin Reaves under contract through his prime are not going to be lottery picks. Doncic and Reaves are both 27. The Lakers will be a playoff team for years.
Unprotected picks from a contender are basically just protection against catastrophe, which the Lakers are unlikely to suffer. The Bucks need young players, real prospects, or shorter-term assets they can flip into something now. None of that is on the Lakers’ table.
Second, Giannis himself does not want to go to LA. He said as much earlier this year when he openly admitted he prefers Miami. That kind of public preference matters when a star has any leverage at all, and Giannis has plenty. He can hit free agency in 2027 if he wants to, and Milwaukee knows it.
So you have a player who would rather go somewhere else and a team offering picks that will not be valuable for a decade. That is not a trade. That is a wish.
The Lakers are in a bind. They have to do something this summer to convince LeBron James to stay. They cannot offer the kind of young talent that would actually pry Giannis loose, because they have already shipped most of their young assets out chasing the last star. Their first-rounders are not going to be in the top half of the draft.
If the Lakers want Giannis, they would need a third team. Maybe a team with shooting and depth that Milwaukee wants. Maybe a contender like the Celtics, who could send back actual rotation players for picks while taking on Giannis. Boston has been mentioned, Miami has been mentioned, and now LA has joined the line. None of those options look likely the way it stands.
For Bucks GM Jon Horst, the smart move is patience. Wait for the offers to grow. Use the draft and free agency to find out who is willing to part with what. The deeper you get into the summer, the more desperate the teams become. Lakers included.
For Giannis, the next step is clarity. If he wants out and he wants Miami, he has to push for it. If he is willing to live with Boston, the door cracks open. If he keeps insisting LA is not a fit, the Lakers are wasting their breath.
The package Charania described is the floor. If the Lakers are going to actually land Giannis, the offer has to triple, and the league does not believe they have the assets to make that happen.
Rob Pelinka can keep dialing. Milwaukee is not picking up.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
