Lakers News: Pundits Speculate About Value Of Dennis Schröder

What could the point guard command in free agency?

The question of what the Los Angeles Lakers will do with their plethora of free agents has been one of their biggest questions of their offseason.

And with just four players from last year's roster under contract for 2023-24 at season's end, it's arguably their most important.

One of their crucial questions is how they'll handle their point guard situation this summer.

D'Angelo Russell and Dennis Schröder are due to test the market this offseason -- Russell as a restricted free agent and Schroder as unrestricted.

And Schroder is the bigger wild card of the two given his unrestricted status, although the playoffs didn't fall in Russell's favor this postseason, leaving open the possibility that they could look at bringing back Schroder.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst talked about that on the latest episode of ESPN's The Hoop Collective podcast.

Well the interesting thing is, Dennis Schroder was reasonably effective for them last year, way more than I thought he would be on a minimum contract. I assume they’re gonna try to bring him back and it’ll be for more than the minimum. So what do they envision him versus D’Angelo [Russell]? What do they pay Schroder versus what do they pay D’Angelo?

Windhorst and company speculated about Russell as well, and the consensus was that he won't be able to get a contract for his desired $30 million per year this offseason.

So where does that leave Schröder?

The defensive specialist provided good value for LA this past season, including on the offensive end when he was given his opportunities, and ultimately jumped Russell in the starting lineup in the Western Conference Finals.

That said, I think a deal around the $10-17 million range would be fair for both Schröder and the Lakers -- probably around the higher end of that -- as it's a contract that would both reward the veteran for his contributions while also giving LA the opportunity to bring back both Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.

As for a timeline for a decision from Schröder, look for one to come quickly.

He recently said that he expects to make a decision in early July, not long after free agency begins on July 1st (well, 3 p.m. on June 30th, if you want to get technical).

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