Dennis Schroder dribbles ball

Trading for Dennis Schroder would be a great move for the Lakers

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The Los Angeles Lakers are in advanced talks to trade for Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schröder, according to Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski reports that the Lakers would build a deal around Danny Green and the 28th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Green is one of the Lakers’ few trade assets, and this year’s pick is one of their few remaining draft selections available to trade after completing the historic deal for Anthony Davis last offseason.

Green was below his usual high standards in the playoffs. The veteran wing was playing through injury, and with so many deep playoff runs in his career, the wear and tear is clearly building up. Green’s availability is no guarantee in 2020/21 – it makes sense for the Lakers to move him while they can, particularly if a player like Schroder is available.

Still an above-average defender, Green makes good decisions at both ends, and despite some ice-cold shooting nights, ended up at a solid 33.9% for the playoffs. The three-time champion remains a very useful player to contending teams. Sam Presti will likely have suitors for Green at the trade deadline, allowing the Thunder to recoup further assets from this potential trade.

Schroder played the best basketball of his career last season. He should have won Sixth Man of the Year. The German was a pivotal member of the NBA’s best five-man line-up alongside Steven Adams, Danilo Gallinari, Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder are heading for a rebuild this offseason, though, and Schroder’s expiring contract was always likely to be traded.

       

Schroder’s development

His Atlanta Hawks days left the impression of an empty stats scorer. The decision making was faulty, and questions were raised about his attitude. Being traded to Oklahoma City helped Schroder, and getting to play alongside Paul last season was clearly huge for him. He accepted the sixth man role, and he flourished. The 27-year-old registered the best three-point shooting mark of his career (38.5%) and showed a new found level of defensive effort.

With Rajon Rondo heading for free agency, the Lakers are getting another ball handler in Schroder. He doesn’t have the three-point track record of Green, but his numbers last season show how effective he can be from deep. Playing in those three-guard line-ups, Schroder was a threat off-ball, a part of his game that wasn’t always evident in Atlanta. He’ll knock down open shots created by LeBron James, and he can create his own looks when required.

This trade looks like a win for the Lakers. Schroder can play as a point guard in non-LeBron minutes or he can slid to the two when James is running the point. His defensive improvement alongside Paul was notable – that’s a standard he will be expected to maintain on the Lakers.

Getting a player in his peak, a player potentially improving, for just Green and a late first-round pick is good value. The Lakers also maintain cap space for next offseason. It’s about as good a trade as Lakers fans could have realistically hoped for this offseason.

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