By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
German free agent point guard Dennis Schroder is signing a one-year contract with the Lakers as his agents announced. The Los Angeles Lakers later confirmed his return.
Per the press release: “The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Dennis Schröder, it was announced today by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Dennis Schröder back to the Lakers,” said Pelinka. “Not only do Dennis and Coach Ham share a player-coach history together, but they also reflect one another’s mentality of toughness with an extremely competitive edge. Dennis will add both depth and an on-ball defensive presence to our core at the guard position. He is also a proven scorer and playmaker. We are really excited for Dennis to get to camp and get back to work in L.A. after his highly successful run with his national team this offseason.”
Schröder appeared in 64 games (29 starts) for the Celtics and Rockets last season, averaging 13.5 points (.344 3FG%), 3.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 28.7 minutes. Schröder returns to Los Angeles after averaging 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 61 games (all starts) for the Lakers during the 2020-21 season.
A nine-year NBA veteran, Schröder has appeared in 621 career games (267 starts) for Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Boston and Houston, holding career averages of 14.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 26.5 minutes. In 52 career playoff games (12 starts) with the Hawks, Thunder and Lakers, he has averaged 13.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists.”
The Lakers don’t have any cap space available and used their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Lonnie Walker, so Schroder will receive a minimum-salary deal. In his case, since he is a nine-year veteran, his salary is $2,64M.
It will be a reunion for the two sides, as Schroder spent the 2020-21 season with the Lakers, who offered him a long-term deal, but at the time he denied it.
The 28-year-old emerged as the leader of the German national team in the EuroBasket, averaging 21.6 points and 7.3 assists, but lost in the semifinals to Spain.