Rumors intensify about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future: Lakers, Knicks emerge as potential landing spots
The LA Lakers and New York Knicks have been reported as potential landing spots for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time NBA MVP recently claimed that he has conditions about signing an extension with the Milwaukee Bucks next summer. Here's what Antetokounmpo said about his contract situation:
"I would not be the best version of myself if I don’t know that everybody’s on the same page," Giannis said. "Everybody’s going for a championship, everybody’s going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do. And if I don’t feel that, I’m not signing."
Giannis Antetokounmpo signed the supermax extension in 2020 worth $228 million. He will be in the final year of his deal in 2024-25. Giannis has a player option in 2025-26, which he will likely opt out of and enter unrestricted free agency.
Amid rumors intensifying about his next destination if he leaves Milwaukee, veteran NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Lakers and Knicks could be among the landing spots for the "Greek Freak." Here's what Stein wrote:
“The Lakers and the Knicks are already being mentioned as franchises presumed to interest Antetokounmpo down the road if he does decide to move on from Milwaukee, which just made a slew of moves (re-signing Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez and replacing Mike Budenholzer as coach with Adrian Griffin) to try to appease its face of the franchise.”
Do the Lakers and Knicks make sense for Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Giannis Antetokounmpo has had a storied tenure with Milwaukee, the franchise that drafted and developed him into arguably the best player in the league today. Giannis repaid the faith, ending the team's 50-year drought for a championship in 2021.
He also made it a top landing spot by turning the franchise from a 15-win team to a perennial contender. Giannis could continue his story with the city and the franchise. Have murals all over the city, a statue outside the home arena and many such tributes.
However, there's a case to be made that he's already achieved enough with the team to garner this respect and doesn't necessarily need to continue his tenure with the franchise in a couple of seasons.
Would a move to a market like LA and New York be the ideal step for his legacy? Probably yes. Giannis Antetokounmpo is inching closer to becoming the face of the NBA, with legends like LeBron James and Steph Curry inching closer to their retirement.
Giannis, only 28, has many years left compared to his rivals. Building a legacy in a big market like New York, a team that desperately needs a superstar, or LA, where the expectation every year is to win a chip, would be an enticing prospect from the player's perspective.
A move to the Lakers, in particular, could create quite the buzz. LeBron could either be playing his final season or would hang his boots as a Laker by the time Giannis Antetokounmpo hits free agency. Antetokounmpo could be the ideal centerpiece following his departure.
Perhaps a twin-tower pairing of him and AD could see the "Greek Freak" have a better shot at winning more championships than extending his stay in Milwaukee. So, to conclude, a move to New York or LA down the line does make sense for Giannis when he hits his true prime in a couple of years, aged 31.