Lakers News: Dennis Schröder Hoping Second Time's The Charm In Los Angeles
Newly-signed Los Angeles Lakers combo guard Dennis Schröder, who inked a veteran's minimum deal to return to L.A. after a season away, is looking forward to picking up where the 2020-21 Lakers left off: in pursuit of postseason glory. He will suit up with L.A. for his first preseason game of the year tonight, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, at 7 p.m. PT.
As Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports, Schröder is looking to make a big impact on the club this season, albeit in a smaller role than he had last time.
"I'm going to make sure everything I can do, I'll bring to the team to win ballgames... I mean, Coach Darvin knows. He's known me for 10 years now. He knows what I bring. And whatever it is, I'm going to do whatever to get a W and to finish the unfinished business."
Part of how Schröder intends to help L.A. is on the defensive end. Head coach Darvin Ham, who helped guide the 6'3" guard through his first five NBA seasons while an assistant coach on the Atlanta Hawks, is familiar with Schröder's game and hopefully knows how to bring out the best of the 29-year-old guard.
Since enjoying a breakout 2019-20 season as the third guard, behind stars Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, for an upstart Oklahoma City Thunder squad that pushed Russell Westbrook's much deeper then-team, the Houston Rockets, to a seven-game playoff series, Schröder has regressed a bit as a scorer. After L.A. traded for him in the summer of 2020, he became the Lakers' starting point guard, averaging 15.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals, while suiting up for 61 of the team's 72 games. He posted shooting splits of .437/.335/.848.
Schröder then signed a $5.9 million mid-level exception contract with the Boston Celtics, beginning the 2021-22 season as the team's starter. Locker room issues would eventually prompt team president Brad Stevens to ship Schroder out to the Houston Rockets, who would use him more sparingly in favor of their younger starting backcourt, comprising point guard Kevin Porter Jr. and shooting guard Jalen Green.
He did build up some buzz as a free agent this summer, thanks to a stellar turn for his native Germany during the EuroBasket tournament. He helped lead the club to a bronze medal finish.
Clearly, Schröder is hoping to re-start his career in L.A., where he could be leaned upon to be a huge contributor in a crowded backcourt. Provided the Lakers offload Russell Westbrook's expiring $47.1 million contract by the trade deadline, Schröder should certainly carve out solid rotation minutes during the home stretch of the 2022-23 season.
