Last week, a New York Times article included a quote from Giannis Antetokounmpo that suggested he could leave the Milwaukee Bucks within the next three years.
He is eligible to sign a contract extension next year, but he said he will not do so unless he believes the Bucks will continue to contend for the NBA championship in the years to come. Antetokounmpo’s current deal expires after the 2025-26 season, and he can opt out of it in the summer of 2025.
That is the same summer LeBron James’ contract with the Los Angeles Lakers will expire. It has led to speculation that the Greek Freak could be the Lakers’ next superstar target, and insider Marc Stein saids the Lakers could indeed interest the superstar should he want to move on (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via Marc Stein Substack:
“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,” wrote Stein.
“You can be certain, if nothing else, that The Giannis Watch is back on and, like it or not, will thrust his future back to the forefront of the NBA discourse after just three seasons of relative quiet that must have elapsed awfully quickly for Bucks fans.”
As of now, Milwaukee should be the co-favorite to win the Eastern Conference and return to the NBA Finals this season. But several of its key players, including Middleton, Lopez and Jrue Holiday, are getting up there in age, and therefore the team could be in decline by the time Antetokounmpo could leave.
The Lakers have a well-documented history of taking big swings at transcendent superstars such as Antetokounmpo, and he could be just the man to keep them in championship contention once James decides to leave.
