Why Dennis Schroder will re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers

Dennis Schroder made Los Angeles Lakers headlines twice within a week. Unfortunately, neither time was in a positive light.

First, it was widely rumored that he was offered to Toronto as part of a trade package for Kyle Lowry. Second, word spread that he turned down a four-year, $84 million offer from the Lakers.

The obvious conclusion seems to be that Schroder will be a one-and-done player, spending only this season in purple and gold and fleeing elsewhere in free agency this summer. Many fans have already said if he doesn’t want to be a Laker, then we don’t want him back.

But sometimes what seems to be an easy observation is not at all what it appears to be. The truth of the matter is this: there’s still an excellent chance that Schroder remains the Lakers point guard next year and beyond.

The biggest reason why is that the Los Angeles Lakers and Dennis Schroder need each other.

How Good is Dennis Schroder?

This season he’s performed about as expected, averaging 15.4 points, 4.6 assists and 2.7 turnovers a game, all in line with his career numbers. Schroder has an ultra-quick first step and turns on the jets frequently to beat his man on drives to the hoop.

His three-point shooting has been a bit disappointing as he’s connecting at just a 32% rate, although he’s shot a bit better lately, making eight out of his last 20 attempts over the past six games. His lifetime percentage is 34% and last year he hit a career-high 38.5%.

The Lakers and especially LeBron James like his in-your-face defense as well as his grit and hustle. And he’s fit in well with this team. Overall, Dennis is not an all-star caliber point guard, but he’s at the next level.

Why the Los Angeles Lakers need Dennis Schroder

It’s easy to see that the Lakers are strongly motivated to sign Schroder. Without some major roster changes, they will be over the salary cap this offseason and won’t be able to afford to sign a comparable free agent point guard.

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But since they hold Schroder’s Bird Rights, they can go over the cap to re-sign him. It’s possible they could do a sign and trade deal with another team that wants him. However, if that team already had a point guard, why would they pursue Schroder?

If Schroder signs elsewhere it would leave the Lakers with a huge hole in their roster that would be extremely difficult to fill. And it would be a giant embarrassment to the regime of General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Why Dennis Schroder needs the Los Angeles Lakers

The following 16 teams are most likely to have cap room this summer: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Sacramento, San Antonio and Toronto.

The only bona fide contender among them is Miami. But they hope to extend Victor Oladipo’s contract and reportedly have strong mutual interest in point guard Lowry, a free-agent-to-be. Of course, things could change, and the Heat could pivot towards Schroder, but it doesn’t look likely.

Virtually every other team already has a young point guard in place: Atlanta has Trae Young; Charlotte has LaMelo Ball; Chicago, Coby White; Cleveland, Collin Sexton; Dallas, Luka Doncic; Houston, John Wall and Memphis, Ja Morant.

New Orleans has Lonzo Ball (although he will be a free agent) and Kira Lewis; New York, Immanuel Quickley; OKC, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; Orlando, Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz; Sacramento, De’Aaron Fox; San Antonio, Dejounte Murray and in Toronto, Fred Van Vleet will probably slide over to point guard when Lowry departs.

That leaves only the Pistons, which has gone into full rebuild mode. Will they or any of the other teams step up to offer a big-money contract to Schroder? It doesn’t seem probable, particularly because he is a nice supporting player, not a building block for a franchise.

There should be another driving force for Schroder to stay put. For the first time in his eight-year career, he is now experiencing the joy of playing for a team with championship aspirations. Regardless of how they fare this season, if LeBron and Anthony Davis are fully healthy next year the Lakers will be right back contending for the title. The opportunity to win should inspire Dennis to be a part of that effort.

Why haven’t the two sides reached an agreement yet?

This is the first time Schroder can be a full-fledged free agent. He has the right to explore all his options to see what the best deal will be. He and his agent know they have leverage, that the Los Angeles Lakers will be hard-pressed to find equal value, so they figure that whatever offer the team makes now will still be made once the season ends.

But Schroder is taking a bit of a gamble. It’s possible that no other team steps up to court him and the Lakers reduce their offer. Maybe his agent knows that won’t be the case, but at this point what will occur in free agency remains fluid and murky.

The logical conclusion

It is quite clear that Dennis Schroder and the Los Angeles Lakers remain the best option for each other next season. Outsiders can speculate about the length of the potential contract or the dollar amount. But since both sides need the other, it is safe to predict that an agreement will be reached for Schroder to re-sign with the team.

All statistics courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com