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Summary
Schroder had the best year of his career for the Thunder in '19-'20, and had a solid regular season with the Lakers before struggling in the playoffs. While never living up to the defensive potential that many believed he had coming out of the draft in 2013, Schroder has developed into a really good offensive player. He can create for himself or others, and can do so out of pick-and-roll or just in an isolation situation. He doesn't have an elite handle in the way someone like Kyrie Irving does, but he just has the ability to blow by guys with his quickness.

Off the ball, Schroder doesn't shoot much on the move so he's not somebody that you're going to run a lot of pindowns for, but he is a threat as a spotup shooter. If there is one worry about Schroder's offense, it's his outside shooting. Schroder shot 39% from three in '19-'20, but for his career is only a 33.7% shooter from deep, including 34% this past season. If Schroder's '19-'20 season is just an outlier, teams may be wary of giving him a big contract. If his shooting woes continue and opponents catch on to the point they stop guarding him, he could struggle to add value on offense.
 
Cap Considerations
Schroder will be an unrestricted free agent with a $23.3 million cap hold and full Bird rights. Since the Lakers will be operating over the salary cap, they will retain Schroder's Bird rights, and have no restrictions on re-signing him. However, re-signing Schroder to a big contract could push the Lakers high into the luxury tax, depending on what happens with their other free agents, but that may not really matter to a championship-level team in the league's biggest market.
 
Schroder would most likely demand a starting salary of more than the full $9.5 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, which means only teams with cap space will be able to sign him. If Schroder and an over-the-cap team have mutual interest, sign-and-trade options can be explored.

Potential Teams: Lakers, Mavericks, Raptors, Bulls, Knicks

Predicted Contract: 3-year, $50 million with the Lakers

Actual Contract: 1-year, $5.9 million with the Celtics

Schroder was my biggest miss of the summer, only getting a one-year contract for the Taxpayer MLE. It has been well documented that Schroder turned down a lucrative extension offer from the Lakers, and that decision will likely haunt him for a while.

Last updated: 8/19/2021

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