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Is Dennis Schröder worth his asking price?


With the Los Angeles Lakers out of the playoffs at the hands of the Phoenix Suns in the first round, it is the final nail in the coffin of a truly tumultuous season for the team. Major injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis kept the two out for large chunks of the regular season, and forced role players like Kyle Kuzma, Dennis Schröder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to take a larger role than they anticipated.

In the absence of James and Davis, Dennis Schröder appeared to be the one who would take on the load these two stars carried, averaging 16.7 points, 7.7 assists, and 1.4 steals in the 21 games he played in following LeBron's ankle injury. Laker fans were optimistic that Schröder would be able to carry that fantastic production with him into the postseason, but that was not to be. In the 6 playoff games the Lakers played, Schröder sputtered, posting lowly averages of 14.3 points and 2.8 assists on a horrid 40% field goal percentage.

When examining Schröder's game, there are some glaring weaknesses, most notably his play-style. Schröder needs the ball in has hands to create any kind of offense, as his off-ball skills are severely lacking. His slow shot release makes him a less than ideal spot-up shooter, and his defensive prowess is limited due to his wiry frame. His best role is a sixth man, a role that he proved to excel at during his time in Oklahoma City. However, his attitude appeared to shift when he was traded to the Lakers before the start of the 2020-2021 season, instead thinking he was a bonafide starter on a championship contending team.

This leads us to Schröder's contract situation, as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Earlier in the season he turned down a lucrative 4-year/$84M deal with the expectation that he would command more once the bidding became open to the 29 other teams. However, his stock has fallen sharply, and you would be hard-pressed to find a team that will meet Schröder's asking price.

However, this is a tough situation for the Lakers, as they are pretty much capped out and their only path to signing new free agents are through exceptions and veteran minimums. There's no way the team would be able to land a player of Schröder's caliber with those. So it seems that Dennis has the team over a barrel in terms of negotiation.

Which leads us to the question of this article, is Dennis Schröder worth his asking price? In a vacuum, I would definitively say no, he is not worth it. However, the NBA does not exist in a vacuum and at the very least, it would be in the interest of the Lakers to re-sign him at whatever number they eventually land on, for the purpose of potentially packaging his salary in a trade down the line. Having tradeable contracts is a must-have thing for any team, especially one that is in title contention.

Worst case scenario, Dennis continues with his regular season production, lightening the load for LeBron until the postseason, where his production won't be as needed. The best case scenario, Dennis takes a step forward in his development, and becomes the secondary ball-handler and playmaker that Laker fans thought he would be when they initially traded for him. With all this in mind, Laker fans should get used to seeing Dennis in the purple and gold as I find it highly unlikely that Rob Pelinka will let him walk for nothing.