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Getty Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder.
Though the Los Angeles Lakers were able to leave with a win against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, there were some very forgettable performances. Dennis Schroder may have had his worst performance yet as a Laker. He scored 12 points on 3-14 shooting and had a minus-20 plus/minus. There’s no question that he was the worst player on the team against the Warriors.
Schroder is set to hit free agency this offseason. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Lakers already made him a contract offer of four years worth $84 million. He turned it down and made it clear that he’s going to wait until the offseason to sign a new deal. After his horrific performance against Golden State, former player Kendrick Perkins called out Schroder for turning down that offer.
Rob Perez also came out and brutally trolled the guard.
Schroder has mostly been solid for the Lakers this season but Wednesday was very concerning. If he puts up more duds like that in the playoffs, he’s going to see a much smaller payday than he was expecting.
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Schroder Outshined by Alex Caruso
Last year, Schroder was excellent for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 18.9 points a game off the bench and was the runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year. When he was traded to the Lakers, he made it clear that he wanted to be the starting point guard. The team obliged and Schroder started in all 61 games he played in.
At times, he appeared to be Los Angeles’ third-best player behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James. However, the play-in game against the Warriors has to be concerning for the Lakers. In the most important game of the season, Schroder was terrible. Despite playing poorly from the start, he was third on the team in shot attempts with 14. He’s not one of the superstars so it’s not ideal when he’s throwing up so many shots. He was outshined by Alex Caruso, who had an excellent game on offense and defense. Caruso scored 12 points on 50% shooting and played very strong defense against Steph Curry.
Is Schroder Worth $20+ Million a Year?
Prior to the play-in game, not many would argue that Schroder was worth around $20 million a year on his new contract. He’s already making $15.5 million a year and is now a starter. One bad game won’t define Schroder’s season but if he hits a bad slump in the playoffs, that could hurt his value.
The Lakers have a lot of key free agents this offseason. It could be worth it to keep Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker at around $20 million combined or even less than pay Schroder all that money. Now, the veteran guard could end up being the Lakers’ third-best player in the playoffs. If that’s the case and he can start averaging 15+ points per game while shooting much more efficiently, he’ll be set for a very handsome payday.
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Lakers Starter Blasted for Turning Down Contract After Horrific Performance