NBA Rumors: The megatrade that would give a starting center to the Lakers and a change of scenery for Giannis Antetokounmpo

It is expected that this NBA offseason will be truly crazy in terms of trades, and league experts and analysts are having fun with proposals that could make sense. 

The latest one comes from Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, whose wild four-team, 14-player operation would send Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Toronto Raptors, while simultaneously filling the huge void in the center position for the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The Raptors would get Giannis Antetokounmpo (from the Bucks), Jalen Smith (from the Bulls), and Jevon Carter (from the Bulls). The Milwaukee Bucks would receive RJ Barrett (from the Raptors), Gradey Dick (from the Raptors), Chris Boucher (re-sign and trade from the Raptors), Ja'Kobe Walter (from the Raptors), Gabe Vincent (from the Lakers), the 9th pick in the 2025 Draft (this and the following picks are all from the Raptors), 2026 first-round swap rights, the Lakers' 2026 second round pick, the 2027 first-round pick, 2028 first-round swap rights, the 2029 first-round pick, 2030 first-round swap rights, the 2031 first-round pick, and 2032 first-round swap rights (top-5 protected for the Raptors).

On the other hand, the Lakers would acquire Jakob Poeltl (from the Raptors), and the Chicago Bulls would retain Dalton Knecht (from the Lakers), Jarred Vanderbilt (from the Lakers), Shake Milton (from the Lakers), AJ Lawson (from the Raptors), a $10 million salary exception (Ball), a $9 million salary exception (Smith), and a $1.5 million salary exception (Carter).

What each team gains

For the Raptors, they would reunite Masai Ujiri and Antetokounmpo, who have a long-standing relationship dating back to Giannis's youth. They would once again attempt to sign a superstar to try to win a championship, just like they did in the 2018/19 season with Kawhi Leonard. 

However, it is incredibly costly for Toronto, as they would lose a significant part of their rotation, starting center Poeltl, power forward Barrett, along with promising young shooter Gradey Dick, and another budding talent, Ja'Kobe Walter. Not to mention the four first-round picks and other pick swaps. They would still have Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and Brandon Ingram to surround Giannis. 

With this hypothetical deal, the Bucks could completely remake their team, with two immediate starters in Barrett and Dick, in addition to a promising young player in Walter and a Lakers backup point guard in Vincent. But the most crucial aspects are those four first-rounders.

The Lakers, on their part, acquire the much-needed starting center they've been missing since trading for Anthony Davis. "With all due respect to Jaxson Hayes, the Lakers made the playoffs without a solidified starting center," Pincus writes. Poeltl fills that need. Lonzo Ball would return to the Lakers, who selected him second overall in the 2017 draft. He would bring size, defensive acceleration, and bench offense as a high-ceiling player alongside Doncic.

Meanwhile, the Bulls would replace Ball, Carter, and Smith with defensive presence on the wing in Vanderbilt, as well as a 2024 first-round pick in Knecht. 

This is a crazy and extremely costly deal for the Raptors, who would really have to pay a lot in this scenario to get Giannis.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rumores NBA: El megatraspaso que daría un pívot titular a los Lakers y un cambio de aires para Giannis Antetokounmpo