Dennis Schroder’s one-year run with the Los Angeles Lakers last season was an unmitigated disaster.
Not only did he fail to help LA repeat and win a second consecutive title, but he alienated his teammates in a pretty jarring way. A lot of Lakers hated playing with him – but one hated it more than anyone else.
In the end, Schroder wound up paying a pretty hefty financial price for how the 2020-21 NBA season went. After turning down $84 million from the Lakers because he felt like he deserved $100+ million, he ended up signing with the Boston Celtics over the summer for the $5.9 million taxpayer midlevel exception.
This week, Schroder shined a light on why his time with LeBron James and Anthony Davis ultimately didn’t work.
“That’s the reason I was hesitating a little bit,” he told Brian Robb of MassLive. “The way I played is not how Dennis played over his whole career in the NBA so that’s the reason I was like, ‘Okay, I have to see how it’s going next.’ That’s the reason why I even didn’t talk to the organization and said, ‘Listen, we can talk about (the contract) after the season. I want to concentrate during the season to finish it.’”
This year, Schroder believes he is in a more favorable position.
“Now, in the situation I’m in, I think I’m 100 percent comfortable so far,” he said. “You feel the appreciation, you feel the organization is trying to help you, your family, your friends, or whatever. It’s been great so far. I mean, this is all I wanted and I think we can accomplish something big here.”
Yikes. https://t.co/e80kXHT43V
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 8, 2021
Schroder has remained pretty defiant about his stint with the Lakers, refusing to characterize it as a failure.
Is that how history will ultimately see it? Time will tell.
Related: What Enes Kanter Did When LeBron James Walked Over (Video)
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
