NBA Rumors: LA Lakers free agent Dennis Schroder to seek $100-120 million deal
LA Lakers guard Dennis Schroder is looking to test the NBA’s free agent waters this offseason after his contract expires this summer. Due to his exposure as a member of the Purple and Gold this past season, the German could be one of the more sought-after free agent point guards.
Armin Andres, Vice President of the German Basketball Federation, shared what Schroder’s asking price could potentially be via TalkBasket.net:
“According to Armin Andres, Vice President of German Basketball Federation (DBB), the point guard is expecting to a deal in the range of $100-$120 million. Andres mentioned the fact is the reason why Schroder is not representing Germany this summer as the burden of insuring his future contract of that value is too big on DBB."
“‘Dennis Schroeder (sic) has communicated this clearly: he wants 100, 120 million – which he will probably also get – and this sum cannot be insured on the normal market at the moment,' Andres said on Abteilung Basketball podcast as reported by Manuel Baraniak.”
Dennis Schroder could receive offers around the $20 million annual salary range from teams looking for a point guard. But receiving a salary near the max would be quite a stretch given that he was far from being an All-Star this past season. Schroder also recorded some subpar playoff performances for the LA Lakers and it’s unclear how much the teams will offer based on his recent performance.
In his first season with the Lakers, Schroder averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game in the regular season. In the postseason, he added 14.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists a night, but had zero points in 25 minutes in Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
Will the LA Lakers re-sign Dennis Schroder?
Dennis Schroder reportedly rejected a four-year, $84 million contract extension from the LA Lakers. He also stated later that money was not the main reason for the talks not progressing. But the fact that Schroder is reportedly seeking a bigger contract suggests that it was a factor, no matter how little.
The LA Lakers own Schroder's bird rights this offseason. They can also go over the cap to offer him up to the max salary of a player with 7-9 years of experience in the NBA. That amounts to $32 million which isn’t what Schroder is worth in the market.
However, Dennis Schroder reportedly believes that he is at least worth $20 million or more based on his talent and résumé. As the 27-year-old explores free agency, the LA Lakers have the advantage financially as they can offer him more than any other team.
The Lakers are likely to look at Dennis Schroder’s value in the open market before making him an offer. However, the outfit needs a 3-point shooting point guard and Schroder is far from being automatic from the arc. His 3-point average during the 2020-21 regular season (33.5%) is eerily close to his career average (33.7%) which suggests that any progress he made previously was just an aberration.
But his defense on the perimeter and ability to create shots on offense are qualities that the Purple and Gold admire about the eight-year veteran.
It remains to be seen if the LA Lakers value those qualities enough for them to come to an agreement that will satisfy Dennis Schroder this summer.
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