The Los Angeles Lakers have more than likely lost out on the chance to trade for Kyrie Irving now that Kevin Durant is set to stay put in Brooklyn, so it’s Plan B time. A trade with the Pacers for Buddy Hield and/or Myles Turner seemingly remains a possibility. Perhaps other unreported avenues to move off Russell Westbrook are in play.
Until then, the Lakers are still looking to fortify around the edges. According to Marc Stein, they could be in the market for a reunion with Dennis Schroder, who spent the 2020-21 Lakers.
Schroder’s first go-round with the Lakers wasn’t great. He averaged 15 points and five assists but shot just 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3. LeBron James and Anthony Davis need at least a few shooters around them. That’s still true, and the Lakers, as currently constructed, are woefully short in this department.
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Hence the interest in Indiana’s Buddy Hield after the Lakers seemingly lost out on a shot at Kyrie Irving with the news that Kevin Durant will remain in Brooklyn. In theory, Schroder can be a guy who takes playmaking pressure off LeBron, which for whatever reason is always an outsized concern of LeBron teams even though LeBron, rightfully, is always going to wrangle control of the offense.
Schroder, an unsigned free agent who spent last season with Boston and Houston but didn’t fare much better as a shooter, could serve as a closing option for Darvin Ham if Russell Westbrook isn’t playable in high-leverage stints, but the fit next to LeBron as a ball-dominant creator who isn’t a true off-ball threat doesn’t appear any better now than it was a few years ago.
