In March this year, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder rejected a 4-year, $84 million contract extension from the team.
While Schroder isn’t the first player to bet on himself in free agency, the decision to reject the Lakers’ generous offer is a miscalculation in the eyes of sports media.
Using Basketball Reference’s 2020-21 NBA Player Contracts, Schroder’s rejected contract extension is a similar average annual value to the contracts of Fred VanVleet, Malcolm Brogdon, Victor Oladipo, and Zach LaVine. Even the most diehard Lakers’ fans would tell you that except for the injury-prone Oladipo, everyone else mentioned above is playing at a far higher level than Schroder.
So, what does Dennis Schroder need to do on the Los Angeles Lakers to be worth more than $84 million?
His recent play has been trending in the right direction. As of the time of writing, over his last six games, Schroder has averaged 18.3 PPG and 9.2 APG on 50% shooting from the field. However, he lacks the game-to-game consistency exhibited by his peers who were listed above.
This article will discuss three areas in which Dennis Schroder needs to improve to be worth the money he’ll likely ask for as a free agent this offseason.