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Over the years, Dennis Schroder has become known as one of the biggest antagonists in the NBA. His pesky play style annoys many players. Devin Booker was clearly annoyed with Schroder for most of the first-round playoff series between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. He even got ejected in Game 3 for flagrantly fouling the guard during the loss. However, Booker is getting the last laugh.
The Suns ended up closing out the series in six games on Thursday night. Schroder has trademarked the saying “that’s tuff” and consistently comments it all over social media. A clip was making the rounds on Instagram of Booker and the Lakers guard going back at it during Game 6. He had to drop a “that’s tuff” comment on the video as one last parting gift to Schroder.
Booker has every right to talk trash. He absolutely dismantled the Lakers in Games 5 and 6. He scored 47 points to finish off the defending champions while Schroder had a very inconsistent series.
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Schroder Sending Lakers Mixed Signals
When the Lakers traded for Schroder, the hope was that he’d be with the team long-term. There was a lot of momentum surrounding the idea of him signing a contract extension during the season but he eventually made it clear that he was going to wait until the offseason to sign.
He’s dropped little nuggets to suggest that he might not be coming back, including taking the Lakers out of his Instagram bio. To make things even more confusing, he said that he’d like to stay with the team after their playoff exit.
“I read so many things on Instagram,” Schroder said Thursday. “At the end of the day, it’s my eighth season in the NBA and I just wanted to make my own decision — one time, to where I can decide where I want to go. Just to say ‘I want to re-sign with the Lakers’ or ‘I want to go somewhere else.’ That’s the only thing.
“The Lakers, they didn’t do nothing to me. They’re great, they got the top-two players, everybody in the locker room is great, so, like I said, I want to be here and win a championship. That’s not even a question.”
It’s hard to know exactly what Schroder wants to do but it’s still possible he stays put in Los Angeles.
Should the Lakers Even Want to Keep Schroder?
During the first half of the season, it looked like Schroder was going to be a Laker for a long time. He was playing well and the team had a great record. However, the wheels fell off in the second half of the season.
Schroder had two stints in the NBA’s health and safety protocol, which caused him to miss a lot of time. What’s even worse is that he just didn’t show up consistently in the playoffs. In Game 5 against the Suns, he scored zero points. He was better in Game 6 as he scored 20 points but still not good enough to help the Lakers stay competitive. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Schroder should be expecting a deal worth more than $20 million a year. The Lakers need to think long and hard about whether or not the guard is worth that type of money.
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