EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Dennis Schroeder said he has a feeling of “unfinished business” after completing the first practice of his second stint with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
The 29-year-old point guard said his goal is to win bigger than what Los Angeles achieved in his first year with the franchise. also mentioned, and has been bothering him ever since.
Schroeder, who signed a one-year, $2.64 million contract with the Lakers last month, claims the Lakers never offered him a four-year, $84 million extension that would qualify him to sign that season.
“At the end of the day, there was never a deal,” Schroeder said. “I never signed a contract, never refused anything…that’s not true.”
It seems like a semantics issue.
A source familiar with negotiations between Schroeder’s agent at the time and the Lakers said that when LA approached talks about a contract extension in February 2021, Schroeder’s side would wait until the offseason when he reached free agency. He told ESPN that he wanted to wait to discuss the deal.
From there, the fortunes of Schroeder and the Lakers changed. The Lakers, who set a record of 22-7 in mid-February when contract talks were underway, are down 20-23 as injuries and COVID-19 absences hit their roster. And Schroeder underwhelmed in the playoff loss to Phoenix, averaging 14.3 points on a 40% shooting percentage and his 2.8 assists.
When the offseason arrived, Los Angeles were uninterested in offering the same type of long-term deal they were meant to discuss months ago, trading Russell Westbrook to play point guard. I decided to
Schroeder signed a one-year, $5.9 million contract with the Boston Celtics and, after being traded, ended the season with the Houston Rockets.
Schroeder teased himself over the $80 million-plus discrepancy between what he could have made and what he signed on…about how he “fiddled with the bag.”
Nonetheless, he appeared enthusiastic when he spoke about his new opportunity with the Lakers on Monday, citing his strong relationship with coach Durbin Hamm, who coached him for five years since he was a rookie with the Atlanta Hawks.
“I’m going to do everything I can to help the team win the ball game,” Schroeder said. “I mean, coach Durbin knows. He’s known me for 10 years now. He knows what I bring. I will do anything to finish the unfinished business.”
And perhaps the basketball business will treat him better for his second time in Los Angeles.
“The whole Lakers situation was a little bit weird,” he said. “That’s why I said ‘play here for free’, to get it right, to point everyone in the right direction.
“Of course, it would be great to sign a big long-term contract. That’s still my goal. But at the end of the day, we’re here now and we’re going to do everything we can.” just help you win the match. “
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