Dennis Schroder shocked everybody when he rejected a four-year, $84 million contract extension from the Los Angeles Lakers, probably wanting to show he’s worth more than that.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t, and absolutely nobody thinks he’s deserving of that type of contract. After his poor performances with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021 playoff, Schroder isn’t in the best position right now, not even able to aspire to get that initial offer he rejected.
For Morten Jensen of Forbes, the German playmaker doesn’t do much to stand out among average point guards in the league, so he shouldn’t aspire to get a $100 million offer in free agency.
Schröder can’t seem to escape the fact that, overall, he grades out as being an average guard. There isn’t any one area where he can consistently apply himself as being an elite conductor, nor is he really terrible at anything.
All that is to mean, his on-court value will always be heavily tied to his financial compensation.
Rejecting $84 million over four years, an annual salary of $21 million, seems at best curious. At worst, it’s a sign that Schröder views himself as a borderline All-Star, which he statistically is fairly far away from being.
Jensen believes Dennis should get a contract similar to Jordan Clarkson’s, who signed for four years and $51 million with the Utah Jazz the last offseason.
That description doesn’t fit with a salary of $21 million per year. Instead, it fits with the contract of someone like Jordan Clarkson, who signed a four-year contract in November of 2020 worth $51 million.
After landing in Los Angeles ready to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis defend the 2020 NBA championship, Schroder struggled to find his touch. It’s doubtful that one team will offer him a $100M contract, but he’s not changing his mind on the kind of money he thinks he deserves.
