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Zach LaVine Responds to Kings' Splashy Dennis Schröder Signing

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 2:57 PM ET

New Sacramento Kings general manager Scott Perry has been doing his darnedest to dig the team out of the hole it's created this past season by firing 2023 Coach of the Year Mike Brown and trading one-time All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox.

Perhaps most critically, Perry has brought in defense-oriented starting point guard Dennis Schröder to offset offensively-inclined incumbent stars Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and Malik Monk. Whether all four players even remain rostered in Sacramento to start the season remains to be seen, too. Schröder, 32, joined the Kings through a three-season, $45 million sign-and-trade deal with the Detroit Pistons.

During a new interview with Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee prior to last weekend's American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament, LaVine reflected on his and DeRozan's scoring acumen, and how the new-look Kings can balance that.

“Me and DeMar have a track record for being able to put the ball in the basket and do the things on the court that we need to,” LaVine said. “But I think we need an overall team concept to where everything’s working the right way. Sometimes roster construction helps out a lot with that."

Schröder split his 2024-25 season between three clubs — the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Pistons — and notched solid averages of 13.1 points on .406/.342/.838 shooting splits, 5.4 dimes, 2.6 boards, and 0.9 swipes across 75 healthy bouts (49 starts).

“So having Dennis, a veteran point guard who’s been in a lot of places, can come off the bench, has started," LaVine said of his new point guard. "He can calm things down. He’s been in pressure situations. I think it’s going to help a lot.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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