Fresh off a successful championship run, the Los Angeles Lakers are already looking to bolster their lineup ahead of their title retention bid in the upcoming 2020-2021 NBA season.
As per The Athletic‘s Shams Charania, the Lakers have engaged in trade talks to acquire Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder in exchange for the No. 28 pick in the upcoming 2020 NBA draft.
The Lakers are engaged in active talks on a deal to acquire Oklahoma City’s Dennis Schröder, which would send No. 28 pick in Draft to the Thunder, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 15, 2020
ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski added more emerging details surrounding the situation which now focuses on veteran guard Danny Green along with the aforementioned draft pick in ongoing trade talks.
Lakers guard Danny Green and the No. 28 overall pick have been a focus of the trade discussions for Schroder, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/KOAcjyIked
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2020
Due to the existence of the Stepien Rule, no trade can happen between the two teams before the draft proceedings. The Lakers owe the New Orleans Pelicans a protected first round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. This means the reigning champions would still have to select a player regardless if it will be dealt or not, via Yahoo Sports‘ Keith Smith.
Because of the Stepien Rule, the Lakers-Thunder trade will have to happen after the Lakers pick at #28. They owe a pick to the Pelicans in 2021 (with protections), so they can't trade #28 until after the pick will have been made.
Basically: #28 will get the wrong hat for a bit!
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) November 15, 2020
The German national has garnered significant interest from several teams after yet another productive campaign for the Thunder last season. He averaged norms of 18.9 points, 4.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. He also shot significantly better from the field in the 2019-2020 season with career-best tallies of 46.9% field goal shooting coupled with 38.5% from beyond the arc through 65 appearances.
Schroder primarily played off the bench behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chris Paul after having two appearances as a starter for the Thunder last season. His scoring prowess and playmaking abilities will be integral for any team that is willing to acquire his services, in this case, the Lakers.
He can serve also serve as insurance for the Purple and Gold in the event that point guard Rajon Rondo will opt out of his contract. Ditto if combo guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will get to be involved in any deals during the offseason. But Schroder adds a scoring dimension to a Lakers offense that both aforementioned guards lacked.
With bigger targets on their backs, the Lakers are hoping to turn to Dennis Schroder to help them in their pursuit of another title in the 2020-2021 season.
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