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There’s frankly no telling what moves the Los Angeles Lakers will pull off this summer.
The 17-time NBA champions have already proven they can shock the world with a blockbuster Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade that not even the most clued-in NBA insider could anticipate.
Still, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus elected to take a stab at it by crafting a massive trade scenario that would swap the Lakers’ father-son duo in favor of a reunion with a former Golden State Warriors guard.
“The Lakers' front office would need to bring its A-game to win the press conference, explaining why the franchise chose not to pay (LeBron) James to wrap his career in the purple and gold,” Pincus wrote Wednesday.
“From a basketball perspective, it's inevitable. The Lakers must prioritize Doncic's prime, as he's one of the most talented scorers in the NBA. James, at his age, isn't the franchise's future. Instead, the team chooses not to go under the salary cap this summer, as many expect.”
“Instead, James yields four (Cleveland Cavaliers) rotation players, including a starting center in (Jarett) Allen, a veteran point guard in his third stint in L.A. in (Dennis) Schroder, a shooter in (Sam) Merrill, and a versatile defender in ( Dean) Wade (in exchange for James and his son Bronny, Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, and a $28 million trade exception.”
Schroder’s first stint with the Lakers came in 2020-21, a year after the franchise captured a championship in the bubble. The 32-year-old appeared in 61 games with the first-round exit-bound Lakers that season, averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game as a full-time starter.
Two seasons later, Schroder returned to Los Angeles to compete with a Lakers squad that many believed was a dark-horse contender, featuring a Big Three of Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and James.
While things didn’t work out with Westbrook (the Lakers traded him to the Utah Jazz), the Lakers went on to reach the Western Conference Finals. Schroder definitely had his moments during Los Angeles' deep playoff run (he efficiently scored 19 points in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Golden State Warriors and averaged 10.3 points per game in the series).
Considering the slithery and high-IQ 6-foot-1 point guard has been serviceable with the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Warriors, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, and Cavaliers, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to utilize him as a competent second-unit contributor in Los Angeles during what would be his third stint with the organization.
Of course, it’ll all come down to whether the Lakers feel comfortable including James and Bronny in a blockbuster sign-and-trade with the ascending Cavaliers.
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