The Raptors challenged the Lakers away, there were referee problems, some malicious foul problems, and even the Raptors coach angrily attacked the referee and the league after the game, and it seems that fines are indispensable. However, putting aside the game itself, as a visiting player, Raptors guard Dennis Schroder returned to Los Angeles this time and returned to the Lakers' home court, he was full of emotion. Although he only played for the Lakers for two years before and after his career, Schroder experienced the lows and highs of his career in the Lakers, which allowed him to grow mentally and improve himself, and this time in Los Angeles, Schroder even opened his heart and admitted for the first time that he regretted his actions back then.
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Sports, Schroder, who has repeatedly denied that the Lakers offered him a four-year, $84 million contract extension, admitted this time. Here's what Schroeder had to say: "I'll sign, I'll never put money on the table, my mother never taught me to do that, but my ex-agent stopped me, and it was definitely the worst two years of my career." But I was lucky because I had two healthy children and a mother and some other people I loved by my side who helped me through that phase. From Schroeder's words, we can see his chagrin and regret, as well as some of his unwillingness.
It's a very simple account, looking back now, if Schroder had followed his heart and accepted the Lakers' contract extension, then he would have almost always served as the Lakers' starting point guard, and his annual salary this season will exceed 20 million, and his contract with the Lakers will have two years left. After rejecting the Lakers' contract extension of more than $80 million, Schroder first got a $5.9 million contract with the Celtics in the market, and then was traded to the Rockets in the middle of the season.
Fortunately, Schroder led the German men's basketball team to win the bronze medal in the European Championships, Schroder himself also played 21+7 data, he returned to the Lakers with a base salary, under Ham, Schroder was reused, and the Lakers finally completed the counterattack and reached the Western Conference Finals, Schroder finally relied on the Lakers and completed the redemption by James' side, otherwise, he may not play in the NBA now, let alone re-get the Raptors' 2-year $26 million contract. However, Schroder's current situation is also very average, this season he started with a 40% three-point shooting rate, but now he can only contribute 14.6 points and 6.8 assists per game, and the three-point shooting rate has dropped to 34.8%.
With the Raptors' record declining and the big deal being made, Schroder lost his starting position. And he himself is very dissatisfied with the team's arrangement. This shows the importance of emotional intelligence. In the Lakers, Schroder's starting position was also squeezed out by Russell, but Ham is obviously more human, he and Schroder talked all night long, let the latter serve as the Lakers' substitute leader, even if it is a substitute, Schroder also feels very comfortable, in the Raptors is different, it is estimated that the coaching staff did not do a good job of cleaning up the aftermath, and directly took Schroder to the bench, without appeasing the latter, resulting in Schroder's unbalanced mentality and dissatisfaction with the current situation.
Dissatisfied with the situation, this is only part of it, then again, if Schroder had accepted the Lakers' offer, his contract would probably have more than 2 years left for more than 40 million, which is far higher than the Raptors' 2-year 26 million, and Schroder can continue to stay with the Lakers, and in the middle two years, Schroder can also earn more than 40 million, but in the end he only took a base salary of 5.9 million and 2.6 million, and lost as much as 30 million, which is not a small loss. It can be seen that Schroeder regrets his decision to be influenced by his former agent, and the reason why he denied it before was also out of face. Now, he is in the career of redemption with the Lakers, and there is no need for those barriers between him and the Lakers, and he can only bear all the consequences.