Dennis Schroder and the Los Angeles Lakers have had a very odd relationship for the past few months.
Between Schroder’s weird contract demands, subsequent whining on social media and then complete about face on his future with the organization – it's unclear what the future holds for the 27-year-old.
Complicating matters even further is the fact that one other team is seriously contemplating making a major play for Schroder’s services, and the Lakers’ true interest in retaining him being something of a question mark.
This week, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka opened up about how he envisions things unfolding with Schroder.
“August is August and free agency is a couple months away and there’s a lot of different things we’ll have to evaluate there, but Dennis is an attractive player to us just because of what he brings to the table,” Pelinka said, via Lakers Nation.
What precisely does Schroder bring to the table?
“One of the genes in a player that we value so much in terms of a makeup or DNA here, mentality, is just the competitive nature and I think all of us can look at Dennis’ body of work and he is an extreme competitor and that’s on both sides of the ball,” Pelinka said.
“He’s hounding guys, picking up players full court, diving for loose balls, bringing that energy on the defensive end and then of course has the ability to score at the point guard position. So we value just those qualities in him.”
Schroder served as the Lakers’ third scoring option behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis this season, and considering how much time both men missed, he was often the secondary or primary option.
That manifested itself in the 27-year-old averaging a career high 32 minutes per outing. Despite the increased playing time, however, Schroder produced his lowest scoring output since 2015.
James has been very clear about the changes LA needs to make before next season. Davis has been similarly firm regarding how he envisions 2021-22 unfolding.
Will Schroder ultimately fit into the Lakers’ plans? Time will tell.
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