Former Warriors champ suggests Lakers should have paid Dennis Schroder before everyone but $53.8M guard

Dennis Schroder has been excelling with the Brooklyn Nets this season, posting career highs of 19.9 points, 6.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. A former NBA champion suggested the LA Lakers might be missing his contributions and could regret letting him go.

On X (formerly Twitter), Nick Young, who won a title with the Golden State Warriors in 2018, shared that if he were running the Lakers, he would have prioritized Schroder, keeping him alongside Austin Reaves.

“If I was the lakers i would’ve paid Dennis Schroder b4 every one but AR,” he said.

During the 2023 free agency period, Schroder departed from the Lakers and signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the Toronto Raptors. In his final season with LA, he averaged 12.6 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds over 66 games, playing 30.1 minutes per game and starting in 50 of them.

In that same offseason, the Lakers brought in Gabe Vincent as Schroder’s replacement and added Christian Wood, Cam Reddish and Taurean Prince. They also extended contracts for Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Reaves, who received a four-year, $54 million deal.

Schroder’s exit followed a season in which he proved valuable to the Lakers, especially after returning on a veteran minimum deal following a challenging first stint with the team. Despite some interest from both sides, the Lakers ultimately chose to bring in Vincent, and Schroder sought new opportunities elsewhere.

Dennis Schroder regrets turning down Lakers’ offer in 2021

In 2021, it was reported that Schroder declined a four-year, $84 million extension in his first stint with the Lakers. Fans have since criticized this decision, as staying would have brought him significantly more money. However, Schroder explained that he turned down the offer based on his former agent’s advice.

“And I would have signed it,” Schröder said (via Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports). “I would never just leave money on the table. My mom didn’t raise me that way.”

Following that season with the Lakers, Schroder signed a one-year, $5.9 million contract with the Boston Celtics, later being traded to the Houston Rockets midseason.

He returned to the Lakers on a one-year, $2.6 million contract for 2022-23. His solid performance last year in LA led to his $26 million contract with the Raptors.

This offseason, Dennis Schroder signed a two-year, $25.4 million contract with the Nets, but he is expected to be a trade chip to bring back assets for the rebuilding team.