Months After Reports of Fumbling $84 Million with Lakers, LeBron James’ Teammate Finally Breaks His Silence

Dennis Schroder has returned in purple and gold for the 2022-23 season. The former Boston Celtics point guard signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers last month. Schroder played with LeBron James during the 2020-21 season when the Lakers failed to repeat a championship victory after winning in 2020. Speaking after his first practice on Monday, the 29-year-old reckoned that he had to take care of some unfinished business at the Lakers.

Schroder also addressed a rumor that has been floating around since he left the Lakers after a single season. Dennis Schroder suggested that his goal was to win bigger with the Lakers than he did during his first stint. The Phoenix Suns eliminated the Lakers in the first round of playoffs in 2020-21. Schroder has returned to LeBron James‘ side after signing a one-year, 2.64 million contract last month.

Dennis Schroder denies the rumored deal

Schroder finally broke his silence about the long-standing rumors, that he fumbled a four-year $84 million extension deal offered by the Lakers. He allegedly chose to test his luck in free agency and ended up making a one-year 5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics. Schroder finally put an end to the rumors. He claimed that the Lakers never offered him such a massive deal. 

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“I mean, end of the day, there never was a contract,” Dennis Schroder said. “There never was a contract, never rejected anything… That’s not true.” While Schroder has denied the rumor, many fans and critics believe the Lakers did offer him a multi-year deal.

Did The Lakers offer Schroder an $84 million deal?

As per ESPN, a source close to the negotiations between Schroder’s representative and the Lakers revealed that the LA front office started a conversation regarding an extension in February 2021. However, Schroder’s side responded that they would rather choose to wait until the offseason when he would have become a free agent. 

The Los Angeles Lakers and Schroder were going strong at that time. The Lakers had a 22-7 record in mid-February at the time of the discussion. Unfortunately, the Lakers dropped down to a 20-23 record as a result of injuries and COVID-19 issues. Schroder remained healthy, but he could not deliver up to the expectations against Phoenix during the playoff series. He averaged 14.3 points and 2.8 assists while making 40% of his shots. As the off-season came, the Lakers reportedly decided to trade Schroder for Russell Westbrook ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Last season, Dennis Schroder averaged 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while making a total of 74 appearances for the Celtics and the Houston Rockets.

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The Lakers point guard is coming off an impressive 2022 EuroBasket tournament. He would hope to continue his good form during the 2022-23 NBA season with the Lakers. It will be interesting to see if Schroder finds better chemistry with LeBron James and Anthony Davis than Westbrook did last season.