The Los Angeles Lakers missed out on big chances to bolster their ranks ahead of the 2022 trade deadline. The Purple and Gold were expected to move Russell Westbrook after a failed first part of the season with the team, but they decided to keep the 2017 NBA MVP on board for the remainder of the campaign.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t get offers. The Houston Rockets offered John Wall and Christian Wood in exchange for Westbrook, but the front office declined that offer. Just like the Lakers rejected the Rockets, they were rejected by their archrivals while trying to land a known face.
It’s been over a week since the 2022 trade deadline struck and we’re still learning details about the failed trades that didn’t happen. According to Steve Bulpett of Heavy, the Lakers tried to reunite with Dennis Schroder, but the Boston Celtics didn’t agree to their offer.
Word is the Celts were looking at other options for Schroder, whose in and out play and the fact it would be near impossible to re-sign him this summer made him a prime candidate for a new address. We’re told the Lakers were offering a couple of second-round picks and some minimum contracts and that there were a number of other talks, but the C’s eventually decided to clear out roster space and reunite with Theis.
“I think they wanted something better than what they got,” said a source from one team that was involved in discussions with the Celtics. “Maybe Theis will be better now that he’s back in Boston, but he’s looked awful this year. They didn’t like him in Chicago, and he hasn’t played well in Houston at all. Maybe some of that’s just on the Rockets and what they were going through. And the familiarity Theis has with those guys should help him.”
Schroder is now in Houston, and he’s expected to have many suitors if he gets bought out by the Rockets. The Lakers will be one of them, as Schroder is one of the candidates that could land in Los Angeles to face the rest of the season.
Dennis didn’t have the best tenure in La La Land and nothing assures that things will be different in his second stint with the Lakers. Time will tell if he agrees to return to the team and if he’s able to bring something different this campaign.
