Lakers' Luka Doncic urged to avoid costly Austin Reaves-Giannis Antetokounmpo trade mistake

“I’m going to say the same thing also in public,” Arenas said. “Like, what am I supposed to say? Nah, I want Giannis (over Reaves) so we can win a championship. No you’re going to always like stay publicly in favor of your teammate you went to battle with.

“But again, do I want to keep going to war with a pistol? Maybe a little Uzi, or do I want that rocket launcher that’s sitting over there? Give me the rocket launcher (in Antetokounmpo). It looks like it makes everything a little bit easier sometimes.”

Arenas couldn’t be more on point with his assessment. If it’s a situation where Doncic is simply highlighting his teammate in a positive light to avoid backlash, the former lottery pick is doing the right thing.

However, if Doncic doubles down on his stance on a potential Reaves-Antetokounmpo swap and continues to push for a non-Reaves-centered deal this summer (privately), the Lakers will have a serious problem to address.

Of course, Los Angeles wants to keep Doncic happy by any means necessary, but they may have no choice but to put their foot down in this instance. The Lakers aren’t championship contenders with Reaves as the organization’s second option, largely in part to his inability to regularly contain elusive ball handlers and tendency to take low percentage shots at the most inopportune times.

Antetokounmpo’s high-level decision-making, playoff success (he won a title in 2021), cheat-code-like slashing chops, and versatility on the defensive end would make him a clear upgrade over Reaves in Los Angeles.

From now until the beginning of the next NBA campaign, the Lakers must express that same sentiment to Doncic and convince him to change his tune.

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