Photo: Adam Glanzman
Dan Beyer: "The Lakers front office once again planted a seed in the head of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Who now, in the middle of his long-term deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, doesn't necessarily need to be obligated to stay in Milwaukee after winning a championship there. He can opt out of his contract after the '24-'25 season, three more seasons in Milwaukee. There's a decent chance Darvin Ham could still be in Los Angeles then. I think that Giannis Antetokounmpo is again the apple of the eye of the Los Angeles Lakers. We saw them sign his brother a couple of years ago. We saw them bring in Jason Kidd as an assistant, when we thought that Giannis could have the ability to leave Milwaukee. All of that set them up to try to bring him to LA, and I don't think they've given up on that. That's what the Darvin Ham hire really in the long term is, to say 'hey Giannis, when you're done with Milwaukee, we have a guy here who you're very familiar with, and peaked in your career with.' For all of the flack that we give the Lakers front office and their decision making, I actually think we need to give them credit. Because not only are the playing the short game with Russell Westbrook and making LeBron James happy, I think this hire is such a good hire because they're also playing the long game with Giannis."
Dan Beyer and George Wrighster react to the Lakers hiring Darvin Ham as their new head coach. Dan breaks down how the addition of Ham can be seen as an attempt to lure Giannis Antetokounmpo to Los Angeles once he is able to opt out of his contract in Milwaukee. Dan points to previous moves made by the Lakers as proof that Los Angeles has not been shy in their pursuit of the superstar in the past, and the guys debate if this hiring could actually achieve the Lakers ultimate goal of acquiring the two-time MVP.