The Los Angeles Lakers did not just watch Dennis Schroder get traded again...they watched two potential fixes disappear in the same deal. Schroder’s latest move sent De’Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings and Keon Ellis to the Cleveland Cavaliers, removing two players Los Angeles had been linked to ahead of the deadline. That is what stings.
Schroder was part of a three-team trade involving the Cavaliers, Kings, and Chicago Bulls, with Chicago collecting Dario Saric and future second-round picks. For most teams, it is routine deadline business. For the Lakers, it was a reminder of how thin their margin has become.
Since playing with Los Angeles during the 2020–21 season, Schroder has turned into one of the league’s most travelled veterans. Houston Rockets. Brooklyn Nets. Golden State Warriors. Detroit Pistons. Sacramento Kings. Now the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This move makes it his 11th NBA team and the eighth time he has been traded, putting him near the top of the league’s all-time list. He is reliable enough to be wanted, but never enough to be kept.
Why this Dennis Schroder deal stung more than usual
The Lakers’ frustration is not about Schroder. It is about what they missed. De’Andre Hunter would have filled a long-standing need as a low-maintenance 3-and-D wing. He defends multiple positions, spaces the floor, and does not require touches to impact the game, which is exactly the type of player Los Angeles has been searching for.
Keon Ellis may hurt more. He is not a big name, but he fits a clear need. Ellis is a physical, point-of-attack defender who makes opposing guards uncomfortable. That alone would have improved a Lakers team that has struggled to slow elite ball handlers all season.
There is also a forward-looking element. With Luka Doncic positioned as the franchise’s next centerpiece, Los Angeles will need defenders capable of taking on difficult matchups so he does not have to. Ellis fits that profile cleanly.
What makes this move harder to swallow is how it happened. Sacramento had reportedly been asking for a first-round pick for Ellis. The Lakers did not really have one to offer. Yet the deal went through without a first attached, just second-round picks.
That is the uncomfortable truth for the Lakers. They did not lose a bidding war. They were never really in it. And now, Dennis Schroder’s name is attached to a trade that underlines exactly where Los Angeles stands.