It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.
Lakers guard Dennis Schroder has decided to leave the team, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday. Schroder is signing a two-year, $26 million deal with the Toronto Raptors (the full non-taxpayer’s midlevel exception).
The Raptors need a new starting point guard as their longtime starter Fred VanVleet just left for a team in the West. Schroder, one of the top available guards remaining, should adequately fill that need for them.
The 29-year-old Schroder was a crucial part of the Lakers rotation during their run to the Western Conference Finals this past season. He averaged 12.6 points and 4.5 assists per game, hitting momentum-swinging threes, drawing timely free throws, and playing sneakily good defense. Schroder also sank a clutch corner triple that helped the Lakers win their play-in tournament game against the Minnesota Timberwolves (video here).
Fortunately for the Lakers, the blow of Schroder’s departure is softened by the addition of another talented guard in free agency. On top of that, they just signed a pair of athletic wings in Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish.
For Schroder himself, he gets a nice new check to recoup some of the money that he fumbled during his previous foray into free agency.
