“I want to be a Laker for a long time”: Dennis Schroder talks about his upcoming Lakers extension

Dennis Schroder wants to rake it in with the Lakers and play for the storied franchise long-term, as he revealed in an interview recently.

Although, the Lakers’ forward AD has been sidelined with injuries for 18 games now. For the past few months, most of the workload has been falling on King James. Another player who has been very crucial for the Lakers in helping LBJ share the load is Dennis Schroder.

The 6-foot-3 German guard has been terrific. He has proven to be a great acquisition by the organization. Getting Schroder on an expiring contract was a big risk that paid off for the Lakers.

Schroder has been brutally honest about his intentions. He made it pretty clear that he wanted to be associated with the team for a long time but just wanted the contract to be a fair one:

“In eight years, I didn’t feel one time where I had to, you know, can sit down in the summer and just see the options. So, we’re kind of, between these: Should we just sign the extension? Or should we wait until the summer? Because at the end of the day, I want to be a Laker for a long time. I always say I want it to be fair.”

Dennis Schroder when asked if he wants to sign a contract extension before the summer free agency begins: “I want to be a Laker for a long time … I just want it to be fair”

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 19, 2021

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‘Lakers will have to pay Dennis Schroder over $20 million a year to keep him’: Adrian Wojnarowski

According to analyst Adrian Wojnarowski, if the Lakers want to retain their 27-year-old combo guard, they will have to pay him well over $20 million a year. Wojnarowski, in his podcast, stated:

“The Lakers are interesting because I think the Lakers are looking a little bit down the road too at their salary structure. Dennis Schroder they’ve got to pay him this offseason. It’s going to cost well over $20 million a year to keep him.”

“I do think they would like to free up some of that money they owe down the line to put themselves in a position to keep the guys they have there. I think that’s kind of at the centre of some of their talks here around the trade deadline.”

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Dennis Schroder was brought into the team as a worthy replacement for veteran guard Rajon Rondo. He has been a prolific offensive threat for teams and has also been great defensively. He has been putting up a great 14.8 points, 4.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game, being a great help for King James.