Dennis Schroder Returns to Hollywood
Dennis Schroder played a total of 64 games during the 2021-2022 season: 49 games with the Boston Celtics before being traded to the Houston Rockets whom he played for in 15 games.
The season before? 61 starts in 61 games for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Back then, the Lakers were gunning for a second straight NBA championship with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. However, injuries got in the way and hurt the Lakers in the playoffs. More than the injuries, it was the inconsistency of Dennis Schroder people blamed for the team’s downfall.
It didn’t help that Schroder was seeking a bigger paycheck for his contract extension- something the Lakers didn’t give, which led to Schroder signing with the Celtics the following offseason.
Schroder averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game during his first run in Hollywood. However those numbers dropped to 13.5 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds last year.
Another One-Year Deal for Schroder
The Lakers may have acquired Patrick Beverley, Damian Jones, Thomas Bryant, and Lonnie Walker IV during the 2022 offseason. However, they haven’t figured out a way to trade Russell Westbrook.
When the Beverley deal was announced, people began debating how a Beverley-Westbrook backcourt tandem could function given the recent beef between the two. Then all of a sudden, another veteran point guard entered the picture.
Or in this case, re-entered the picture. Reports indicate that Schroder is signing a $2.64 million dollar one-year deal with the Lakers.
The Implications
With preseason games just around the corner, the Lakers are now short on time as they continue to weigh their options as to whether or not they should keep Russell Westbrook.
When the Lakers failed to acquire Kyrie Irving or Donovan Mitchell, many believed a return to the Lakers became possible for Dennis Schroder. And for some, it’s the ideal choice considering the time left to round out a competitive roster.
With Beverley and Schroder now in the mix, the Lakers have three veteran point guards on their roster- plus Kendrick Nunn and Austin Reaves. While it’s a good problem to have for Coach Darvin Ham, it’s still a headache. Who gets the starts? And how would these players fit into a roster that has other ball dominant players in LeBron and AD?
The first implication of the Schroder deal is that Patrick Beverley may come off the bench as the spark plug. In effect, Westbrook still keeps his status as the starting point guard- assuming he doesn’t get traded before the 2022-2023 season opens. Schroder would take the starting shooting guard spot alongside Westbrook to go along with LeBron, Davis, and Thomas Bryant in the starting five.
While the Lakers’ potential starting five with Schroder looks formidable on paper, the next question would be: will it work?
Chemistry-wise, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dennis Schroder worked together fine despite their own lapses in their first campaign – or at least better than the LeBron-AD-Westbrook trio did last season. And the Lakers actually won more games with Schroder than they did with Westbrook.
The Lakers went 38-23 with Schroder. With Westbrook, they struggled to a 31-47 record. If anything, Schroder’s return to Hollywood could signal that if Westbrook isn’t able to turn things around, he may have to settle for a bench role with veteran guards champing at the bit behind him. A luxury LA didn’t have in 2021-22.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: AleXXw. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Austria license.