Getty Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder.
One of the biggest storylines of the offseason was Dennis Schroder’s contract situation. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Los Angeles Lakers offered him a four-year deal worth $84 million but he decided to turn it down in hopes of making $100+ million. Not a single team was interested in paying him anywhere close to that much money and he ended up signing a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics worth $5.9 million.
The Lakers didn’t show any interest in bringing him back in the offseason and replaced him with former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook. Instead of making a ton of money as the starting point guard on a championship contender, Schroder will be a sixth man making less than a 10th of what he could’ve been making. The veteran guard had his first chance to speak for the first time since signing in free agency and made an interesting claim.
“The Lakers told us we’re not talking during the season,” Schroder said Monday. “End of the day, I never had that contract in front of me, that’s one thing. But they wanted to talk, and at the end of the day, me and my agent decided not to sign that contract.”
It sounds like Schroder is saying that he never received that $84 million offer from the Lakers but also says that he decided not to sign that contract. Regardless of what happened, Los Angeles dodged a bullet by not giving the guard an extension.
ALL the latest Los Angeles Lakers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Lakers newsletter here!
Schroder Doesn’t Believe He Was a Fit With Lakers
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Lakers’ initial trade for Schroder last offseason. He was supposed to give the team a legit third-scoring option behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He only ended up averaging 15.4 points a game despite the fact that LeBron and Davis missed a number of games. He doesn’t believe that he was a great fit with the team.
“I feel like for me personally I’ve got to be comfortable in the environment I’m in,” Schroder said. “I love the Lakers organization, they did great things. But I think for me, and it’s just business, I don’t think I fit in 100 percent (with the Lakers). You play with LeBron and AD, that’s two of the best players in the NBA. I don’t think I gave them everything I bring to the table.
“For me, my family, I signed a pretty good contract after my fourth year and my family and myself, we’re going to be good. I’m 28 years old and I’m going to still play in the NBA for a long time. Money is not everything. I want to be comfortable in a situation where I know people appreciate me. How all this stuff happened, you just gotta look forward and just to try to keep improving and try to show people what you’re capable of, and everything’s going to come back.”
Schroder Talks Free Agency
After his disappointing season with the Lakers, nobody thought he’d be making the $100+ million he wanted. However, nobody expected him to only make $5.9 million. He became the butt of many jokes for Lakers fans but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. He wasn’t expecting free agency to go as poorly as it did.
“When free agency hit, there were a few days when my agent and me talked a little bit and said, listen, this is not how we thought it’s going to be,” Schroder said. “But a few days after I had a couple of options and I was talking to some teams and I think Boston was just the right fit and the right mentality.”
Schroder clearly overvalued himself but he was once valued at over $20 million a season. He could reclaim a lot of that value with a strong season.
READ NEXT: Lakers Sign Rookie Guard to Multi-Year Contract: Report