Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons in bounce back win over Portland

Dennis Schroder made himself a lot of money playing in this game alone

Rob Pelinka is going to be a very busy man over the next several months. It’s not enough that he has to fill up those last two roster spots and improve the roster with limited assets. Now he’s going to have to find some extra change in a lot of couches to pay Dennis Schroder.

Last Christmas, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported about contract negotiations between the Lakers and Schroder. Dennis bet on himself and declined the first offer.

"Before the start of the season, Schroder turned down an initial Lakers offer to extend his contract for an additional two-years and $33.4 million, sources said — an overture that represented the maximum allowable offer the Lakers could make him prior to February 16."

Well, things have changed a whole lot since the season rolled into 2021.

Last week, Schroder became eligible for a larger extension offer that is described here from Wojnarowski.

"The Lakers can offer a starting salary of $18.6 million starting with the 2021-2022 season, which creates much more of a realistic opportunity for the Lakers, Schroder, and his agent, Alex Saratsis, to find a landing spot on a market-value extension with the Lakers. If there’s no deal before the offseason, the Lakers possessed Schroder’s Bird Rights to go over the salary cap in re-signing him. To lose Schroder in free agency would leave the Lakers limited in replacing him, because they’d only have a $9.5 million midlevel exception available to use in free agency."

Four games ago, it was divided on if the Lakers would keep him, much less shell out a max deal that added up to $83 million. After this game, the only question is how long it will take the Lakers to lock him up long-term.

Schroder finished the night with a very efficient 22 points (6-14 shooting while going 9-9 from the free-throw line!), with three rebounds and two assists. The stats don’t tell the full story in this game. He brought back the confidence and swagger that was depleted in the Utah game.

Moreover, Schroder’s defense on Lillard in the second half helped turn the game around. His pressure on Lillard combined with Vogel’s adjustments gave the Lakers a boost, forcing 15 turnovers that led to 23 fast-break points.

Watching Schroder and Monrezl Harrell screaming about a missed defensive rotation in the first half should be exciting if you are a Lakers fan. The accountability between the players that the Lakers missed the last few games is back as well.

The biggest addition of Schroder’s return is not the ability to get his own shot, push the pace or disruptive defense. It’s how he brought back a level of confidence to LeBron knowing he no longer has to carry the load. Can’t you tell?

LeBron James and Dennis Schroder was the story of the game, but this player provided the same amount of hustle and energy that has gone on all season long. Read on to see who this player is.