The Los Angeles Lakers were quiet in the 2020 NBA Draft on Wednesday night but did finalize their trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Dennis Schroder. The deal was agreed to on Sunday but could not be finalized until after the Draft because it included the No. 28 pick.
Due to including a first-round draft pick in the trade for Anthony Davis, the Lakers were prohibited from doing so again as teams are not permitted to deal first-rounders in consecutive years. While the Lakers selected Jaden McDaniels, he nor Danny Green are remaining with the Thunder.
Prior to the Draft beginning, Oklahoma City agreed to trade Green, along with Terrance Ferguson to the Philadelphia 76ers for Al Horford, the rights to Vasilije Micic and multiple draft picks. The Thunder additionally traded Ricky Rubio, Emmanuel Quickley (25th pick) and McDaniels to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Aleksej Pokusevski (selected 17th overall).
Minnesota then sent Quickley and a second-round pick to the New York Knicks for Leandro Bolmaro (No. 23 pick).
The Lakers left the wave of transactions to other teams and added a backup point guard who is coming off a career season. Schroder averaged 18.9 points, 4.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 65 games (two starts) for Oklahoma City last season.
He led the NBA in points scored off the bench, shot a career high in field goal percentage (.469) and 3-point percentage (.385), and finished second in Sixth Man Award voting.
Schroder, who was selected 17th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2013 NBA Draft, has career averages of 14.1 points, 4.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds.
Lakers fill one void with Schroder, but face another
L.A. reportedly completed their trade for Schroder under the assumption Rajon Rondo will be lost in free agency. The Atlanta Hawks are said to be prepared to submit an aggressive offer to Rondo, who may be more interested in signing with the L.A. Clippers.
Meanwhile, trading Green removes one of the Lakers’ primary wing defenders. That could become even more of a need if Avery Bradley declines his player option and isn’t re-signed. The Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks reportedly are among the teams with interest in Bradley.
The Lakers have been linked to Wesley Matthews, who opted out of the final year of his contract.
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