[brid autoplay=”true” video=”816273″ player=”23231″ title=”Top%20NBA%20free%20agents%20of%202021″ duration=”53″ description=”Unlike last offseason, we’re going to see a ton of top end NBA free agents in 2021. Players like future Hall of Famers Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul will likely opt out of their contracts and hit the open market.Meanwhile, there’s a large amount of talented youngsters set to become restricted free agents. That list includes Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins and Lonzo Ball of the New Orleans Pelicans.” uploaddate=”2021-06-29″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/thumb/816273_t_1624987441.png” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/sd/816273.mp4″]
It’s becoming rather clear that Dennis Schroder did the Los Angeles Lakers a solid by turning down a four-year, $84 million contract extension offer this past spring.
Schroder, 27, wasn’t great in his first season with the Lakers. The Germany native averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists while shooting 44% from the field. He also struggled during the Lakers’ first-round series loss to the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Playoffs.
With Schroder set to hit free agency, reports indicate that the Los Angeles Lakers could actually get some value for him in a sign-and-trade. For his part, the veteran point guard is seeking between $100 and $120 million on a four-year deal this summer. He’s also received interest from multiple teams. It’s in this that we look at three sign-and-trade scenarios that could help the Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers trade Dennis Schroder to the Dallas Mavericks
- Lakers get: Josh Richardson, Jalen Brunson, Trey Burke
- Mavericks get: Dennis Schroder
We already know that Dallas is looking for a better supporting cast behind Luka Doncic. It might also help the MVP candidate if his usage rate weren’t so high, meaning playing a bit more off-ball than we’ve seen throughout his first three NBA seasons. From Dallas’ perspective, acquiring Schroder in a sign-and-trade would be huge. It would still enable the team to potentially bring in another impact player in free agency with north of $20 million to spend under the NBA salary cap.
From Los Angeles’ perspective, this would be all about building more depth behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James. It would still potentially be able to add a starter-caliber point guard using the mid-level exception during free agency. Richardson is seen as a three-and-D wing with an ability to hit the perimeter shot. Brunson played extremely well as a third-year player this past season, averaging 12.6 points on 52% shooting from the field. Burke would be depth.
Los Angeles Lakers trade Dennis Schroder to the New Orleans Pelicans
- Lakers get: Eric Bledsoe, 10th pick
- Pelicans get: Dennis Schroder, 22nd pick
There’s good news on the Lakers’ front when it comes to draft picks being the part of any deal. Sign-and-trades will not be able to be made official until after the 2021 NBA Draft later in July. This could help general manager Rob Pelinka get a bit creative.
In this hypothetical trade, Los Angeles nets a top-10 pick to take on the bloated contract of Eric Bledsoe. While the veteran point guard struggled a season ago in New Orleans, he could act as a stopgap option with the Lakers using the 10th pick on a point guard of the future. They could also package said pick with Kyle Kuzma for another starter-caliber player. As for the Pelicans, they trade down in the first round to land Zion Williamson an upgrade at point guard.
Los Angeles Lakers trade Dennis Schroder to the San Antonio Spurs
- Lakers get: Dejounte Murray
- Spurs get: Dennis Schroder, 22nd pick
Reports out of San Antonio conclude that the Spurs are looking to move off Murray in a trade this summer. It’s interesting in that the Spurs don’t have an in-house candidate to replace him with Patty Mills set to hit free agency. That’s where Schroder could come into play. Gregg Popovich and Co. are not looking to start anew with a rebuild. Being able to move off Murray’s contract in a sign-and-trade for Schroder would still give San Antonio roughly $48 million to spend during the summer.
This would also pretty much be a no-brainer for the Los Angeles Lakers. Murray is still only 24 years old and had a career-best performance in 2020-21 — averaging 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists on 45% shooting from the field.