Giannis Antetokounmpo has molded himself into one of the best players in the league. With more than a season to go for his contract to expire, speculations on the possible scenarios when it eventually expires have already begun.
Many teams are reported to be looking to be planning ways to lure him in if he does plan to move away from Milwaukee. Teams need to put in a lot of thought because of Giannis’ salary. Teams will have to spend a significant amount of money which could break their salary cap.
How LeBron James could help if Los Angeles Lakers wish to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo
Amongst the teams that could sign Antetokounmpo is the Lakers. However, the Lakers already have two players, LeBron James and Anthony Davis under a max contract.
James is in the second year of four-year, $154 million deal he signed with LA last year. Although Davis will be an unrestricted free agent next year, he is wildly expected to re-sign with the Lakers.
Antetokounmpo’s four-year, $100,000,000 contract will expire after the 2020-21 season when the teams will be looking to swoop him in.
For the Lakers to add Giannis without losing either of their two stars, they will need James to compromise. If James, who will turn 37 by the end of 2017, agrees to sign a new contract with a lesser salary, they can be financially ready to get Giannis. The motivation for LeBron to do it would be the prospect of getting a shot at adding more title(s) to his career achievements. If the Lakers do manage to get James, Davis, Antetokounmpo together, they will be a formidable force in the NBA.
LeBron James opens up about potential of Lakers’ defense
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA this season. LeBron James and Anthony Davis anchor a defense that has the purple and gold competitive in every game they play, and that may be their biggest strength in the final stretch of the 2019-20 campaign.
On Friday night, the Lakers showed flashes of this dominance defense, with Davis having another solid night on that side of the basketball floor. Davis was a nightmare in the paint for the Memphis Grizzlies as he was either blocking shots or making it incredibly for Memphis to get to the basket. He finished with a game-high seven blocks and had everyone talking about this team’s defense as well as his candidacy for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
“We’ve been close to it,” James said of the Lakers’ defense reaching its true potential. “We’ve had great stretches – more great than not. We’re getting back to it. We understand every team that we play is going to play great basketball versus us. They look forward to that matchup, and it’s up to us to just try and take teams out of what they do well. To have Avery and JaVale and AD and the rest of us just doing our jobs defensively – being sound and being in-tune with the game plan – it’s really good for us.”
Along with Davis making a strong case for Defensive Player of the Year and LeBron doing his part on that end of the floor, the superstar newcomer talked about the team as a whole when it comes to their defensive dominance at times this season.
“Shout out to the culture,” Davis said of this Lakers squad. “We want to build a foundation, but if guys can’t go have a next-man-up mentality, and I think we did that tonight when I went out. If guys feel like they’re able to play, then, by all means, we’re going to be out on the floor. We’re trying to set a culture, set a standard for ourselves that we want to get into a rhythm before playoffs.”
If the Lakers can continue to play at a high level defensively and can keep their stars healthy moving forward, Los Angeles will be an extremely tough team to beat come playoff time. LeBron and company are ready for the challenge while living up to the hype of being one of best teams in the league this season.
