Dennis Schroder was not a great fit in his previous stop with the Lakers. Anthony Davis was frustrated about how he was set up (and that’s not even getting into Schroder turning down an $84 million contract extension with the team).
The Lakers are looking for more point guard depth heading into the season — right now Russell Westbrook would be their starter — and a reunion with Schroder is on the table, according to Marc Stein.
If Schroder wasn’t a fit a couple of years ago, has that changed? One league source pointed out to NBC Sports that the Boston Celtics took off the second half of the season when they played Dennis Schroder less (giving Marcus Smart the ball). The Celtics eventually traded Schroder to the Rockets. (To be fair, Boston also got hot when they got healthy and started playing Robert Williams III more at center, it wasn’t all Schroder.) The Lakers need shooting around Davis and LeBron, and Schroder has been pedestrian from deep the past couple of seasons (33.5% and 34.4%).
There are still a lot of things on the table in Los Angeles — Kyrie Irving may be out of the picture but the Lakers are still looking hard for roster upgrades. Point guard is just part of that. Shams Charania reported the Lakers have interest in Patrick Beverley and Bojan Bogdanovic out of Utah, although to make that work becomes a Russell Westbrook trade where the Lakers are giving up their two first-round picks to make it work. The Buddy Hield and Myles Turner trade with Indiana could be revisited.
In a more positionless league, LeBron James is really the point guard in Los Angles — he initiates the offense, he has the ball in his hands. As for the one spot, Los Angeles has Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn (who missed all of last season but says he feels 100%), plus new acquisition Lonnie Walker IV is more of a wing but can create some with the ball in his hands. If Schroder came off the bench for 15 minutes a night he could be a decent fit, but the Lakers don’t want him in a role larger than that.
What the Lakers need most is just more talent on the roster. However they get it. Schroder can help round things out with some depth, but he’s not moving the needle the way the Lakers need.
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