{"id":136948,"date":"2025-04-29T21:12:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T01:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=136948"},"modified":"2025-04-29T21:12:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T01:12:29","slug":"carlos-boozer-giannis-lakers-bucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/29\/carlos-boozer-giannis-lakers-bucks\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NBA Vet: Giannis Should Bolt for LA if he Wants Out of Milwaukee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prior to the Bucks\u2019 pivotal game 5 against the Pacers, ESPN\u2019s \u201cGet Up\u201d crew discussed whether Tuesday would be <\/span>Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/span><\/a>\u2019s \u201cfinal game\u201d in Milwaukee. \u201cThe Greek Freak\u201d had been rumored to leave the Bucks<\/a> if things went awry, and after their first-round exit, the whispers could grow louder if they don\u2019t turn things around.<\/span><\/p>\n

13-year veteran and two-time All-Star <\/span>Carlos Boozer<\/span><\/a> proposed a bold suggestion for Giannis if he wants out of the midwest: Tinseltown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ex-NBA Vet: Giannis Should Bolt for LA if he Wants Out of Milwaukee<\/b><\/h2>\n

Boozer: LA Would be \u201cInteresting\u201d Possibility for Giannis<\/b><\/h3>\n

Boozer, Monica McNutt, Mike Greenberg and Jay Williams brought up potential destinations for Antetokounmpo should he finally ask out of Milwaukee. Amid speculation that Giannis could join the <\/span>Miami Heat<\/span><\/a>, Boozer claimed the Lakers and <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a> could be \u201cinteresting\u201d for the nine-time All-Star.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s interesting for me, if I\u2019m Giannis and I don\u2019t want to go back to Milwaukee, maybe play with Luka, maybe go to LA?\u201d <\/span>Boozer asked<\/span><\/a> hypothetically, causing the rest of the panel to roar with laughter.<\/span><\/p>\n

While analysts (and most fans) would think of Giannis leaving for LA as a joke, the reality wouldn\u2019t be a laughing matter for the rest of the league. The Lakers already pulled off the impossible by trading for Doncic in February, and it\u2019s no surprise they\u2019re angling for elite talent to join him after <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a> retires.<\/span><\/p>\n

Giannis to the Lakers Remains Dream Scenario<\/b><\/h3>\n

When thinking about potential co-stars next to Doncic, Antetokounmpo is one name that rings in the minds of Laker fans (next to Nuggets star <\/span>Nikola Jokic<\/span><\/a>). The 2019 NBA champion has led Milwaukee for the past 12 years, and despite rumors of friction and constant rumblings of a departure, Antetokounmpo has remained loyal to the 414, keeping small-market teams like the Bucks alive and competitive. However, since the Bucks\u2019 last title, they have one other Finals appearance (2021) and haven\u2019t escaped the first round since 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers are always a marquee destination, and with Doncic primed to take the reins, fans are hoping a star of Giannis\u2019s caliber comes along.<\/span><\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo is <\/span>under contract<\/span><\/a> with the Bucks until 2027, when he has a <\/span>$62 million player option<\/span><\/a> on the table. The Lakers, meanwhile, have Doncic on their books until 2026, when he has his own <\/span>player option worth $48 million<\/span><\/a>. If he opts in, the Lakers could re-sign Doncic while going after Giannis in the summer of 2027\u2014a daring task for a franchise used to star power.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying that Giannis\u2019s two-way dominance would fit like a glove next to Doncic, who is an offensive force in his own right. The pair would fortify LA for the next decade while keeping big names in big markets. However, as exciting as this would be, it remains a mere pipe dream. Antetokounmpo is steadfast in his commitment to Milwaukee, and that likely won\u2019t change after their recent struggles. The Lakers, however, will exhaust all options once James hangs up his jersey, and that could very well include a run at a decorated European superstar.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prior to the Bucks\u2019 pivotal game 5 against the Pacers, ESPN\u2019s \u201cGet Up\u201d crew discussed whether Tuesday would be Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s \u201cfinal game\u201d in Milwaukee. \u201cThe Greek Freak\u201d had been rumored to leave the Bucks if things went awry, and after their first-round exit, the whispers could grow louder if they don\u2019t turn things around. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":136951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,15,62],"tags":[306,38,1133,72],"class_list":["post-136948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-bucks","category-nba","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nikola-jokic"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136948"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136958,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136948\/revisions\/136958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}