Dennis Schröder Finds NBA Home; Signs One-Year Deal

Dennis Schröder, the top remaining point guard on the free agent market, has parlayed a sizzling performance for Germany at the EuroBasket tournament into a new NBA deal, returning to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The Lakers once thought Schröder was worth $84M, offering him that 4-year deal while he was last with the team in 2021. Schroder infamously declined, and now has returned on a one-year, $2.64M deal — that's a nice tidy savings of some $18M+ for the year for the Lakers ($81M+ overall). 

Schröder turned some heads over the past few weeks with his performance for Germany at EuroBasket. He's averaged 21.6 points and 7.3 assists, leading them to the semifinals of the event before bowing to Spain today. 

This gives the Lakers 3 point guards who will want minutes—Patrick Beverley, Schröder, and Russell Westbrook, and it has to make one wonder if this move is another sign that Westbrook will not be back. "There will be plenty of minutes for everybody," is what the Lakers told Schröder's agent.

The 26-year-old Schröder is a playmaker, a bit of a scorer, and, like Beverley,  can play some defense. 

Schröder played under assistant coach Darvin Ham for the Atlanta Hawks for five seasons from 2013-2018; Ham is now the head coach of the Lakers.

Photos: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports, Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports