The Los Angeles Lakers made plenty of moves early in the offseason, signing Lonnie Walker IV, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, Thomas Bryant, and Troy Brown to provide LeBron James with improved depth after last year's razor-thin roster iteration. After a torrid Eurobasket performance where Dennis Schroder averaged 22.1 points and 7.1 assists, Lakers fans were calling out for his return, and the Lakers obliged, signing Schroder to a minimum deal last weekend. However, it appears as if a deal had been on the works for quite a while.
After Germany's 82-69 win over Poland to secure the Eurobasket bronze medal, Schroder revealed that he had already been in contact with Lakers management for three months.
“I've been talking to the Lakers for the last three months. I knew I was going back, but I wanted to take my time,” Schroder said.
Being patient with his decision might pay off for Schroder, who is coming back to the Lakers with fans clamoring for his addition. For his part, the Lakers were more than solid during the year Schroder started alongside LeBron James, finishing with a 42-30 record and just falling to the play-in spot due to Anthony Davis' injury problems. Still, it was the ringing endorsement of LeBron that made Schroder's decision a no-brainer.
“LeBron said he was glad he got me back,” Schroder added. “It's unfinished business. That year when I was there, there were no fans. There was COVID, everybody was hurt. This year hopefully, everything stays good, everybody stays healthy, and then we'll try to go for something.”
“I can't wait. I've been talking to [LeBron]. I can't wait to go back. I want to go for something this time.”
Dennis Schroder memorably turned down an extension worth around $84 million with the Lakers during the 2021 offseason, settling instead for the taxpayer mid-level exception with the Boston Celtics. The 29-year old point guard just wasn't able to find his rhythm all of last season, ending up with the Houston Rockets after the trade deadline.
While there seems to be a logjam for the Lakers at guard, with Dennis Schroder expected to compete with Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, Patrick Beverley, and Austin Reaves for minutes, there's definitely a place for a perimeter shot creator like Schroder in a team starved of it. Nonetheless, the Lakers will be hoping he regains the form he showed during his stellar final season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he averaged an impressive 18.9 points per game on 47% shooting and a career high 39% from deep.
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