In addition to LeBron James and Anthony Davis being the best players in the league, the biggest reason the Los Angeles Lakers won the championship in 2020 was their team chemistry.
Unfortunately though, the Lakers made a ton of changes to their roster the offseason after winning it all and were unable to build that same chemistry in 2020-21, leading to a first-round postseason exit in their title defense year.
One of those new additions was point guard Dennis Schroder, who the Lakers gave up Danny Green and a first-round pick to acquire.
Schroder’s lone season with the Lakers was filled with ups and downs, although it will be the downs that get remembered as he failed to show up when his team needed him in the postseason. That led to Schroder’s free-agent market drying up as he turned down a massive extension with the Lakers during the season and ultimately signed a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics.
While fans were vocally frustrated with Schroder throughout the season, it appears some players felt the same way. According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, Davis was unhappy with the quality of passes Schroder was giving him so is glad to have Rajon Rondo back on the team this year:
Per an NBA source familiar with some of the Lakers’ struggles through the 2020-21 campaign, Davis felt some frustration that he wasn’t getting the kind of looks in the post with Dennis Schroder running the point compared to those he received with Rondo a year earlier.
While Schroder is a point guard, he isn’t exactly known for his passing, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. When you’re used to two future Hall of Famers in James and Rondo setting you up, Schroder is definitely a downgrade in the passing department.
The frustration with Schroder in the Lakers organization began almost immediately when he demanded to be in the starting lineup right after being traded to the team. This year’s Lakers team seems to already have better chemistry though as everyone they have added has stressed the importance of being selfless for the greater good of the team, which is very similar to the 2020 championship team.
Kuzma also frustrated with Schroder
While neither are on the team anymore, this isn’t the first time it’s come out that Schroder frustrated teammates as the same thing was recently reported with Kyle Kuzma.
Maybe this offseason will be a reality check for Schroder, who is now playing for another contract on the Celtics.
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