Los Angeles Lakers had a great season of ups and downs this time. The team started the season horribly, as they lost ten matches in the first twelve games. Nobody thought the Lakers’ army could reach the Western Conference Finals. But they did. Apparently, it was after the front office made some brilliant moves right before the February trade deadline.
Hence, in the offseason as well, the front office would like to hold on to the same core hoping for a championship next year. But many players are heading towards free agency. For instance, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura are restricted free agents. On the other hand, D’Angelo Russell is an unrestricted free agent. But the Lakers would like to keep Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV for the next season as well.
Lakers Trying To Find A Way To Retain Dennis Schroder & Lonnie Walker IV
Like D’Lo Russell, Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV are unrestricted free agents as well. And according to Jovan Buha of The Athletics, the Lakers are trying their best to keep Schroder and Walker on their roster. But the 17-time champions do not have the Bird Rights on them. Evidently, Schroder played a key role in helping the Lakers reach the WCF. He appeared in 66 games last season. Moreover, Schroder started in 50 of those games. For the Lakers, he had an average of 12.6 ppg, 2.5 RPG, and 4.5 apg. Moreover, it was the second stint of the veteran guard to LA. Thus, retaining him would give the Lakers some insurance if they are not able to retain D’Lo Russell.
However, The Athletic’s Buha feels that the Lakers are prioritizing retaining Reaves, Hachimura, and the unrestricted shooter D’Lo Russell. Hence, it won’t be easy to chalk out a plan to retain Dennis Schroder. Moreover, other than him, Lonnie Walker was impressive as well. He had an average of 11.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, and 1.1 apg in the last season. But he had a great time against the Golden State Warriors, scoring 9, 12, 15 & 13 points in Games 2, 3,4,6. He did not play in Games 1 and 5 but helped the Lakers beat the defending champions. Hence, Walker would be a key for the team, too, in the next season. Hence, the Lakers may choose to retain him after all.
Stephen A. Smith Unnecessarily Mocked Dennis Schroder
Recently, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN made fun of Dennis Schroder’s hairstyle, and the fans were laughing out loud on Twitter. The ESPN analyst, out of nowhere, took a shot at Dennis Schroder. He compared his hairstyles from his days with Atlanta Hawks and in the last season. Moreover, it took a lot of time for the Laker’s front office to get rid of Russell Westbrook. But finally, they managed to trade him to the Utah Jazz. Later, Westbrook signed with the city rivals of the Los Angeles Lakers. But the 17-time champions got what they needed at that point. Finally, the team looked balanced. Gradually, they rose up the ladder and made the postseason. Later, they beat the second-seed Memphis Grizzlies in Round 1, and then beat the defending champions Golden State Warriors in Round 2. But they could not beat the top-seed Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.
