Los Angeles Lakers: Will Giannis join Kostas in LA in 2021?

The Los Angeles Lakers’ signing of Kostas Antetokounmpo can be seen as a move for the future or a planning tool to recruit his brother, Giannis

In July, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Kostas Antetokoumpo, younger brother of NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, after he was waived by the Dallas Mavericks. While Kostas bears the same surname as Giannis, his stock when Giannis was his age isn’t comparable.

Kostas is still just 21 and remains a raw talent, however, it’s hard to see whether he can make any future contributions to the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll most likely spend the most of next season with the Lakers G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.

However, the NBA is all about drama and storylines and it’s only right to delve deeper into decisions made by franchisees and analyze them a million different ways.

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Let’s look at the facts: the Antetokounmpo brothers (Giannis, Thanasis, Kostas, Alex, and Francis) are very close. Giannis is a free agent in 2021. The Lakers are specialists in signing free-agent superstars, you just have to look at their last two summers.

Giannis, on multiple occasions, has discussed his fervour for winning and how important it is to him. Despite the strides he and the Milwaukee Bucks have taken in the last year, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, it remains whether Giannis’ supporting cast of Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe can step when needed. Bledsoe especially looked like a shell of himself during the playoffs this last season.

However, much to the delight of Bucks fans and Milwaukee natives, The Greek Freak had this to say about Milwaukee as a city:

"“I can feel the love from the city every day I step on the floor. There’s a lot of things you can do in Milwaukee, too.”"

Giannis has stated his loyalty for the Bucks on multiple occasions over the years, thanking the organization for showing faith in him and backing him as the leader of the team. However, one thing you can count on the NBA is that anything can happen at any time.

Despite Giannis saying things like:

"“I don’t like all these flashy cities like L.A. or Miami. I don’t know if I could be the same player if I played in those cities.”"

The Bucks are a class organization with a sound basketball hierarchy with NBA Executive of the Year Jon Horst as the GM and NBA head coach of the year Mike Budenholzer, who’ve built the team perfectly around Giannis. They secured the future of Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, two key players who spread the floor brilliantly for Giannis. They even added Giannis’ older brother Thanasis on a 2-year deal which can only mean good things for Giannis.

Despite the loss of Malcolm Brogdon to the Pacers which by no means is a minor loss, they added Wesley Matthews and re-signed George Hill who was quite productive off the bench in the playoffs.

The Bucks are in prime position to compete, but Giannis doesn’t just want to compete, he wants to win, and that place may just lie in the Staples Center.

The prestige of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, the possibility of joining Anthony Davis (who talked to Giannis about joining the Bucks before he joined the Lakers), and playing with another one of his brothers in Kostas. Giannis may be willing to overlook the flash and non-stop paparazzi of LA to win.

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However, time can only tell what happens. The Bucks are going to offer Giannis the super-max in 2021 when he is a free agent. Whether he accepts or decides to go into free agency, it adds another layer of drama to an ever-changing National Basketball Association.

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