What an offseason it has been for Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder. Before inking his new one-year contract to return to the team, the 29-year-old helped his country, Germany, to a third-place finish and bronze medal at the 2022 EuroBasket.
Schroder has been a notable international player in the NBA and has represented Germany through various tournaments during the offseason.
After putting Germany on the podium for the first time in recent years, Schroder described his journey in an interview with BasketNews’ Donatas Urbonas:
“We’ve worked for this the last 8-9 years since I joined the national team”, Schroder said. “To finally get something like this… Of course, you want to go for the gold, but at the end of the day, the main aim was the medal,” Schroder was happy after the third-place game victory over Poland 82-69.
Heading into the 2022-23 NBA season, Schroder looks to keep his hot offensive play alive after averaging 22.7 points and 7.1 assists in EuroBasket. With the Lakers needing more firepower to make a title run, LeBron James expressed his happiness about Schroder’s return to the team.
Schroder missed out on the Olympics last year due to his contract situation, but he’s hoping that playing this year demonstrated the love he has for his country:
“I didn’t play in the last year’s Olympics because of the contract situation. That’s the reason why I didn’t do it. But everybody sees this commitment that I’ve been there even without having a contract,” Schroder emphasized. “I love these guys, and I love this federation. I’ll keep playing until I can’t walk no more.”
After making history and improving his individual game, Schroder completes a remarkable offseason that hopes to set the German-playmaker up for a comeback similar to what former Lakers big man Dwight Howard had with L.A. in 2019-20.
Schroder’s One-Year Lakers Deal Is Fully Guaranteed
After the Lakers brought Schroder one a one-year deal, the question became whether or not his salary would be guaranteed.
Whenever a player’s money is guaranteed, it shows that the franchise believes in the athlete’s abilities to be an asset on an aspiring winning team. This is true for Schroder and the Lakers, as the 29-year-old’s one-year contract with the Purple and Gold is reportedly fully guaranteed.
The Lakers faithful remember Schroder for more than just his shooting and playmaking ability. A defensive nose for the ball, making hustle plays, being an on and off-ball defender with a crafty finishing skillset made him worthy for his contract being fully guaranteed.
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