Around this time last month, Dennis Schroder was out of a job in the NBA, and there wasn’t a whole lot of interest in his services either. He was coming off a sub-par 2021-22 campaign, where the Celtics had shipped him off in mid-season to the Rockets after he struggled to make much of an impact in Boston. He barely played for the rebuilding Rockets, too, as he dealt with a shoulder injury and the market for him seemed nonexistent over a month into the free agency period.
We then started hearing murmurs regarding a potential reunion with the Los Angeles Lakers, and once Schroder started balling out at EuroBasket for Germany, he was back on the radar for numerous teams. NBA insider Marc Stein stated just a couple of days back that Schroder would be signed by the end of the month, and he didn’t have to wait that long either, as the Lakers signed him on Friday.
Shams Charania Reveals That Dennis Schroder Rejected The Suns And The Raptors
Schroder had expressed his interest in a return to the Lakers back in July, and the move finally materialized. LeBron James also expressed his excitement at Schroder returning, and as per NBA insider Shams Charania, the German rejected two teams to head back to LA.
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1570939756275724288
It shows the pull of the Lakers and LeBron that he picked them over two teams that made the playoffs last season, with the Suns even boasting the best record in the league. It is understandable why Phoenix would have been interested in Schroder, as they need a backup point guard after Cameron Payne’s struggles in this past postseason. As for the Raptors, their backup point guard at the moment is Malachi Flynn, who has failed to make much of an impact in his 2 years in the league so far.
These teams will now have to look elsewhere to improve their roster, but there aren’t too many good options left at the point guard slot. The Lakers would be pretty pleased to have gotten him on board, and he now joins a bit of a crowded backcourt, which gives new head coach Darvin Ham a lot of options to work with. Schroder might even find himself in the starting role at some point this upcoming season if he plays well, as Ham has been given the power by the front office to make decisions in the best interests of the team.
