(Basketball news) The Lakers are set to be reunited with a former Lakers member of the team, as they are signing point guard Dennis Schroder on one-year contract with the team for the veteran’s minimum. Schroder, who recently turned 28, turned down a lucrative contract extension with the Lakers during the 2020-21 season before he left the organization following the summer free agency market. During that same time frame, the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook and the German point guard joined Boston and then got traded to Houston but now he’s back with the Lakers.
Schröder last season appeared in 64 games where he made 29 starts for the Celtics and Rockets as he averaged 13.5 points (.344 3FG%), 3.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 28.7 minutes. Schröder is back to Los Angeles where he averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 61 games during the 2020-21 season. He is a nine-year NBA veteran, appearing in 621 career games for Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Boston and Houston, holding a career average of 14.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 26.5 minutes. Schroder has gone onto make 52 career playoff games with the Hawks, Thunder and Laker and has averaged 13.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
The Lakers have a crowded backcourt which includes the likes of Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker IV. Schroder will provide the Lakers with a more natural playmaker compared to Westbrook who is a more traditional point guard scorer. While the future of Westbrook is still being discussed, it is most likely that Schroder will start as he has a prior relationship with Darvin Ham, who was an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks when he began his NBA career.
It was announced today by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released. “We are extremely pleased to welcome Dennis Schröder back to the Lakers,” said Pelinka. “Not only do Dennis and Coach Ham share a player-coach history together, but they also reflect one another’s mentality of toughness with an extremely competitive edge. Dennis will add both depth and an on-ball defensive presence to our core at the guard position. He is also a proven scorer and playmaker. We are really excited for Dennis to get to camp and get back to work in L.A. after his highly successful run with his national team this offseason.”
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