3 moves the Lakers need to make this offseason to make LeBron happy

2. Lakers need to re-sign Dennis Schroder.

The Lakers traded for Dennis Schroder during the 2020-21 season, and he played fairly well for them. He averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game, helping LA stay afloat when AD and James were injured. In addition, his playmaking ability alleviated some of the pressure off of LeBron, who deferred to him a lot in the first round of the playoffs.

That deferment didn’t lead to the best results, as Schroder struggled in the postseason. Despite his shortcomings, it would be silly if the Lakers didn’t re-sign him. The point guard will be an unrestricted free agent but has been very vocal about running it back with LA.

“They got the top two players [LeBron James and Anthony Davis] in the league. Everybody in the locker room is great, so at the end of the day, like I said, I want to be here and win the championship. That’s not even a question,” Schroder said, per The Los Angeles Times.

The Lakers offered Schroder a four-year, $84 million extension during the season, but he turned it down. Maybe LeBron can do a little campaigning and convince the 27-year-old point guard to return to the team. The King knows that he’ll be able to benefit greatly from Schroder’s skill set.

The Lakers have no true point guard on their roster outside of Schroder, making it even more imperative for them to bring him back. LeBron will not want to play point-forward all game, and having Schroder on the floor prevents that from happening. Luckily, it seems like general manager Rob Pelinka is open to the idea of bringing the 6-foot-3 point guard back to LA.

“Dennis is an attractive player to us just because of what he brings to the table,” Pelinka said per ClutchPoints.