The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked with plenty of names throughout the offseason. However, the one that stood out the most was that of Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Purple & Gold were rumored to be eying the Greek Freak as the other superstar to complement Luka Doncic. But the summer went on, and a move never gained traction. While this might make you think that the reason behind LA’s failure to land Giannis might be related to their lack of assets, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Recently, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the 31-year-old had given his nod to a move to New York earlier this summer. Not just that, Milwaukee also held discussions with the Knicks’ front office regarding the possibility of a trade being executed. However, before all of this went down, Antetokounmpo had his doors open to any bigger market team, including the Lakers. But the Lakers’ plan fell apart for two major reasons, with one of them being their treatment of LeBron James.

While discussing the Los Angeles trade plan, senior Insider Anthony Irwin revealed the factors that led to Giannis Antetokounmpo picking the Big Apple as his potential next destination. “So there’s a very human element to these things as well that does offer an explanation here. He also might just want to go to a team that doesn’t have a superstar there who would have been there first, and he might have to play second fiddle for.” Irwin suggested on his podcast, the ‘Lakers Lounge‘.

“We’ve seen how the Lakers have treated LeBron as he has now moved to second fiddle, and how the Lakers have really shifted hard away from LeBron. So, it would kind of make a little bit of sense for Giannis to say, “You know what? I want to be the guy in New York. It’s shorter to… It’s a shorter trip to Greece whenever I or my family wants to go there. That’s my preference.” And, apparently, that’s how it played out. And now we kind of move on.” He further elaborated.

Irwin pointed out that being able to commute to Athens might’ve been a huge factor. Nonetheless, not bigger than the urge to be the franchise player wherever he goes next. The reporter suggested that, seeing how the LA Lakers have taken a hard shift from LeBron James this season, Giannis might’ve made up his mind to head to New York instead. Well, if that’s actually the case, it’s hard to blame the Bucks forward. After all, the Los Angeles front office has not treated James pretty well this summer.

While everyone knew that Luka Doncic had been brought in to be the franchise’s next cornerstone, nobody expected it to happen this offseason. Rob Pelinka and Co. included the Slovenian star in almost every major decision throughout the summer. All the way from bringing in Marcus Smart to Southern California to other moves the franchise has executed, the Lakers’ entire roster now seems to revolve around Doncic. Not to mention, they have also handed him a multi-year extension.

Seeing L.A. give so much preference to Luka and James taking a backseat, it’s not hard to understand why Giannis Antetokounmpo preferred to head to the other coast instead. Nonetheless, even that move did not go through after the Bucks reportedly did not think what the Knicks were offering was enough. Now, while it may seem like the Greek sensation is about to enter his 13th season in the league with Milwaukee, Shams Charania believes it might stay the same way for a long time.

ESPN Insider predicts more teams to enter the race to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo

Senior NBA Insider, Shams Charania, broke the internet when he announced that the New York Knicks were the preferred destination of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, it seems that due to the Big Apple team being hard hit with salary cap restrictions, a move couldn’t go through. This might make many think that the Greek superstar’s trade saga might be over for this season, but that’s not the case, according to Charania.

He believes that there’s a good chance that we might see Antetokounmpo request a trade before the February deadline if the season doesn’t start as the 31-year-old expects. “If it does reopen in the season, this whole Giannis Antetokounmpo element to the NBA season, that window is no longer exclusive just to the Knicks. That is going to include other NBA teams. I expect it to go beyond just the Knicks. Giannis Antetokounmpo and his agent have been figuring out which teams, if it does get to the point of a trade request, could find their way,” he said.

Well, that’s not much of a surprise given just how good Giannis is. Just last season, despite his team struggling big time, the forward managed to average 30.4 points along with 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists while shooting 60.1 percent from the field. Moreover, even before the world came to know that he expressed interest in a move away from Wisconsin, teams showed a great deal of interest in the Bucks star. So, if he does request a trade midway through the season, you should expect several teams battling for his signature.