2 NBA Teams Have Their Eyes on Dennis Schroder, Lakers

By | Bullscore 8 Jun, 2023

Dennis Schroder, a player for Los Angeles Lakers signed the contract 3 years ago. When he started playing for the Lakers, he encountered a lot of problems with his teammates, and one of the team’s best players didn’t like playing with him.

But when he got another chance to play for the Lakers, Schroder completely changed. He became a really good player for the team, especially on defense, and surprised everyone by improving a lot.

Now, as he gets ready to become a free agent, many people are wondering what will happen to Schroder in the future.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, L.A. wants to retain him.

“Los Angeles would like to keep Schroder, but they have his non-bird rights,” he wrote.

“Meaning the most they can offer him in free agency is a projected $3.8 million in his first year unless they’re willing to use one of their midlevel exceptions (most likely the taxpayer midlevel exception, which is projected to be about $5 million annually for a maximum of three years).”

One of the questions that had been raised is that if the Lakers want to keep Schroder, then how much money will be needed? The reason Schroder joined the team again for less money was due to the reason he felt like his first run with the organization left something to be desired. But that’s not the case this time. Now he felt like he made things right.

“Like I said before I tried to make it right and I think we sure did,” Schroder said during his exit interviews.

“We had a helluva season. Like I mentioned yesterday, a 0.3% chance to make the playoffs. Rob made a deal, trade deadline, brought 3-4 guys in here who played great basketball, competed on the highest level and we turned a corner.”

Now that Schroder has paid off his so-called “debt,” he is free to do whatever is best for him. If the Lakers don’t offer him a good deal, they could end up losing him.

Right now, it looks like two teams have a good chance of taking him away.

The first team is the Chicago Bulls. There are rumors that they want to trade for Alex Caruso, and Schroder could be a good replacement. He may not be as good at defense as Caruso, but he can still play well on that side of the court. The Bulls need players who can guard the perimeter, especially since Lonzo Ball might not play anymore.

If not the Bulls, the Dallas Mavericks are another team to watch. They say they’re not trading for Kyrie Irving, but where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. If Irving changes his mind and wants to join LeBron James in LA, Schroder would probably have to be part of the trade. The Mavericks had a bad defense last season, and Schroder could help them improve, especially if they also get D’Angelo Russell.

We’ll have to wait and see if Schroder stays with the Lakers or part ways.