Dennis Schroder’s first thing Monday after his first day of practice with the Lakers was to talk about reports he refused to accept. He received a lucrative contract extension during his first stint in Los Angeles.
Schroder insisted that the media coverage of the Lakers “never had a contract” was about the point guard’s time with the Lakers in the 2020-21 season.
Numerous media reports said Schroder turned down a four-year contract offered by Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka worth about $80 million. Schroder signed a one-year, veteran minimum contract of $2.64 million with the Lakers.
“Never had a contract, never turned down anything,” Schroeder said. “I don’t know who brought it up, but that’s the media, you know? But at the end of the day, there’s no contract, and I’m happy to be here. Like you said, unfinished business, we just have to deal with these things And to win the chip [champion]. I think that’s the goal, and beyond that, it’s about the contract, that’s not true. But I think you guys can ask Rob what he thinks about that.”
Schroder joined the Boston Celtics last year on a one-year, $5.9 million deal, but he ended the season with the Houston Rockets, playing a total of 64 games and Averaged 13.5 appearances. points and 4.6 assists.
Although he is only 29 years old, Schroder is entering his 10th season in the NBA.
He was asked if job security and long-term contracts were important to him.
“Of course it would be great to sign a big contract and a long-term deal, and that’s still my goal,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we’re here now, and I’m going to do everything I can to help my teammates win the game right now.” The Lakers have laid a solid foundation. He averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game and excelled on the defensive end.
Schroder and new Lakers head coach Darwin Hamm have been dating since they spent five years together with the Atlanta Hawks.
On the first day of practice, Ham saw how strong Schroder’s defense was.
“He definitely [was] full court when we had a little scrimmage,” Ham said. “But at the same time, realising he’s not around, so he’s trying to put things into consideration with how we do it. We did a lot of that when he was defending with us in Atlanta. Offensively, it’s a little bit different, but It’s not too complicated that he can’t pick it up on the fly. So, we’ll have our coach write him the script. He’s going to have some really good script sessions with a few others over the next few days. I Hopefully he can adapt to the situation, absorb all the information and be able to apply it soon.”
Hamm said Schroder will play a few minutes in Wednesday night’s exhibition game at Crypto. com Arena against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While Schroder previously started for the Lakers, he now wants to play his part.
“For me, on the defensive end, I try to stay defensively aware,” he said. “Of course, try to get my teammates involved and be aggressive, like I’ve been doing for the past nine years. I’m looking forward to, competing with Pat Bev [Beverley]. I’ve played against him a few times. Seeing him a little bit different, I mean, I love it. We’re all competitors and we’re all trying to catch it.”
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times .
