Lakers News: Dennis Schröder Pens Heartfelt Tribute To Laker Nation

The Lakers' 2020-21 starting point guard is heading back to Crypto.com Arena.

Prodigal Los Angeles Lakers son Dennis Schröder has returned to the fold! The 6'3" point guard will be back in L.A. on a one-year, $2.64 million veteran's minimum contract. The unrestricted free agent had apparently been hoping to get a second chance with the club this offseason, and had been talking to the team about a potential opportunity.

To commemorate the moment, Schröder penned a moving tribute on Instagram to Lakers fans, mentioning that his year away from the team, wherein he played for both the Boston Celtics and the Houston Rockets, "didn't feel right." The 29-year-old's Instagram post included a slideshow of images featuring himself in his Lakers jersey, including moments with L.A. stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis:

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A post shared by Dennis Schröder (@ds17_fg)

It's a sweet missive. Let's see how that locker room looks midway through the 2022-23 season.

During his 2020-21 run in Los Angeles, Schröder played fairly well, until things fell apart in the playoffs. In six games during the Lakers' quarterfinals matchup against the Phoenix Suns, he scored an inefficient 14.3 points a night (shooting 40% from the floor and a mere 30.8% from deep) and struggled to stop the Phoenix Suns' perimeter players on defense. Schröder averages 13.5 points, 4.6 dimes and 3.3 boards across 64 games played with the Celtics and Rockets last season, starting 29. 

An official team statement from the Lakers announcing the reunion was similarly sunny. President of basketball operations Rob Pelinka spoke about Schröder's prior relationship with new L.A. head coach Darvin Ham, as well as the 6'3" point guard's spectacular showing this summer with the German national team in its march to the EuroBasket semifinals:

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Dennis Schröder back to the Lakers. Not only do Dennis and Coach Ham share a player-coach history together, but they also reflect one another’s mentality of toughness with an extremely competitive edge. Dennis will add both depth and an on-ball defensive presence to our core at the guard position. He is also a proven scorer and playmaker. We are really excited for Dennis to get to camp and get back to work in L.A. after his highly successful run with his national team this offseason.”

Schröder averaged 26 points and eight rebounds in his three tournament games for his native Germany, competing in EuroBasket this summer.

Everyone currently seems to be operating from a place of well-intentioned optimism. Let's see what happens after training camp starts, when rotation and minutes allocations need to be made.