Charania doubled down on his report last week that Antetokounmpo's agent, Alex Saratsis, has engaged the Bucks front office in conversations about the nine-time All-Star's future. Per Charania, the rumors have affected the rest of the team. Milwaukee sits at No. 8 in the Eastern Conference and is just 2-8 in its last 10 games.

With the Lakers getting off to such a strong start, the assumption is that they have a real shot at contending for an NBA championship come playoff time. However, James' agent Rich Paul doesn't believe the Lakers are true contenders, as he mentioned in a sit-down interview with Max Kellerman.

Lakers urged to trade for $109M NBA Champion, 'forced' by Luka Doncic's greatness, title demands originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Despite a return near for LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers were advised to be aggressive in the trade market to fix their biggest issues.