Shaq suggests Giannis Antetokounmpo should avoid teams such as Lakers

USA Today

14 hours ago

Shaq suggests Giannis Antetokounmpo should avoid teams such as Lakers
It is widely believed that Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask the Milwaukee Bucks to trade him at some point this summer. If he does indeed ask out, there is always the chance that he requests to be sent to a marquee team in a marquee market.
Some Los Angeles Lakers fans are hoping their favorite team ends up landing Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA regular-season MVP who led the Bucks to the world championship in 2021. But Lakers great Shaquille O'Neal feels the "Greek Freak" should steer clear of teams that are based in big markets such as Los Angeles for a few reasons.
'I would tell him that, probably, a bigger market doesn't matter' O'Neal said. 'Social media is the market now. Giannis has made a name for himself on social media. If you go to L.A., 50% of your contract goes to taxes, more pressure and more stress. Being that he's in control of that ship, he should go upstairs and be like 'I want to see all the free agents, I want phone numbers and I want to talk to them.' He should bring people to him. When I was coming up, it was small market was too small, probably need to go to a big market. But now, every market is the same. Nobody cares what city you're in, this ain't the '90s.'
O'Neal, of course, left a small-market team in the Orlando Magic, even though it had plenty of potential moving forward, to join the Lakers in 1996 as a free agent. While coming to the Lakers would allow him to eventually win three straight NBA titles, it also gave him the opportunity to market himself off the court and appear in movies and television shows while continuing to pursue his budding hip-hop career.
Of course, that was a much different time, long before the start of social media and back when access to the internet was just starting to proliferate across the land.
While the Bucks seemed to still be contenders after winning it all in 2021, it is now clear that they have exhausted their potential. Their supporting cast is aging and thinning, and Antetokounmpo's co-star, Damian Lillard, who was acquired prior to last season in a stunning trade, recently tore his Achilles.
It appears that a trade would be best for both parties at this point, especially now that Antetokounmpo is 30 years of age.