The odds of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade have declined dramatically after Rob Pelinka effectively proclaimed that the Los Angeles Lakers will not trade Austin Reaves. It's a development that admittedly has merit, but also essentially removes Los Angeles from the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.
With Antetokounmpo's fate undecided and the Lakers a viable landing spot for the two-time MVP, one can't help but question if Pelinka's commitment to Reaves is a bit premature.
Los Angeles will enter the 2025 offseason with limited resources as far as executing trades is concerned. There are appealing players and contracts who can be moved for situational upgrades, but acquiring a superstar would require the Lakers to include Reaves in an otherwise pedestrian offer.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Pelinka plans to enter training camp with Doncic, James, and Reaves on the roster.
“I think when you get those three pillars (Dončić, James and Reaves) in a training camp environment and you’re starting to build an ethos around them, that’s a great starting point,” Pelinka said. “And we didn’t have that opportunity this year. But we will next year.”
In other words: Reaves will not be traded this summer, thus ruling Los Angeles out of a potential move for Antetokounmpo.
Rob Pelinka declares Austin Reaves will be playing for Lakers in 2025-26
Crazier things have happened, but there's no logical way to construct an Antetokounmpo trade without including Reaves. Doncic isn't going anywhere and James is unlikely to be moved, let alone in a sign-and-trade to a potentially rebuilding Bucks squad.
Furthermore, the Lakers' assets are remarkably limited on the NBA Draft front, with only a 2031 first-round draft pick and a trio of pick swaps at their disposal.
Rival executives, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to offer Milwaukee a collection of assets that can kickstart its rebuild if Antetokounmpo formally requests a trade. They may also be able to offer a young talent who's comparable to Reaves in talent and potential.
That speculatively includes the Oklahoma City Thunder with Jalen Williams and an abundance of first-round draft picks, and the Houston Rockets with their embarrassment of future riches.
Without Reaves included in a trade offer, the best Los Angeles can do to match those offers is provide role players and a single draft pick. Dalton Knecht is promising, and Rui Hachimura is a valuablee asset who plays up to his contract, but neither have shown enough to warrant being a centerpiece in an Antetokounmpo deal.
This, of course, isn't to say that a package built around Reaves would've been enough to land Antetokounmpo, but it was the only realistic chance Los Angeles had.
The silver lining is that Pelinka is right. Los Angeles went through the 2024-25 season trying to split a star's level of touches and responsibility between three perimeter players who are at their best with the ball in their hands, and they didn't have a training camp to develop chemistry.
One simply can't help but note that committing to Reaves means that it's time for the Lakers to move on from any lingering dreams of acquiring Antetokounmpo in 2025.