The Los Angeles Lakers hoped to retain Dennis Schroder when the offseason began, as running it back was the top priority. However, Schroder reportedly wanted a larger role than what the Lakers could offer, and the Toronto Raptors came in and offered him the starting point guard role with a full midlevel exception to go along with it.
Schroder chose Toronto over L.A. and the Lakers pivoted to Gabe Vincent from the Miami Heat.
The Vincent experiment has not gone anywhere close to what was expected. A knee injury has limited him to five games this season and it remains unclear when he might see the floor again. This is leading the Lakers to, once again, look at ball-handling guards as they make their trade deadline plans.
And Schroder, who has found himself lower on the depth chart than expected, may be a prime target for L.A. if they want to avoid making a splashier and riskier move, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
The Toronto Raptors have two players on their roster the Lakers have interest in as well, sources said: Dennis Schroder and Bruce Brown. Schroder was L.A.’s backup point guard last season before signing with Toronto for the full midlevel exception in the summer.
With the Raptors already completing a trade with the New York Knicks to acquire two ball-dominant players in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, Schroder could become expendable. And Brown was the Lakers’ top target with their midlevel exception in the offseason, team sources told ESPN, but L.A. got priced out, with the Indiana Pacers offering Brown a two-year, $45 million contract.
Schroder went to Toronto in part because they offered him a larger role than the Lakers could. But with the injury to Vincent and the Raptors acquiring Immanuel Quickley, that’s no longer the case. Schroder is the back-up point guard regardless of what team he’s on.
So if the Lakers strike out or opt against going for one of their bigger targets, including Schroder’s teammate in Bruce Brown, a low-cost option like Schroder could be solid for L.A.
Raptors asking for first-round pick and more for Lakers target Bruce Brown
The Lakers are perhaps the most interested team in the league with regard to acquiring Brown from the Raptors. But they may be priced out if Toronto sticks to their initial asking price. Reportedly, the Raptors are seeking a first-round pick and a quality player at a minimum.
For the Lakers, this would probably look similar to what they are reportedly offering the Atlanta Hawks for Dejounte Murray, which is D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino and a first-round pick.
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