Report: Rival All-Star Could Be a Fit for the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers may lose some of their players in free agency. This would open a few spots for new players. One rival may join the Lakers and that would be an ideal scenario for the purple and gold.

Dennis Schroder may become a free agent sooner than expected. In other words, the Lakers will have to find a point guard. Mike Conley came off his first All-Star appearance.

Conley is set to become a free agent and he may take a pay cut from his $34.5 million salary. The 33-year-old is in the final year of his $152.6 million contract. Former NBA executive John Hollinger believes that NBA teams will probably evaluate Schroder, Conley, Kyle Lowry, and Chris Paul.

“But once Schröder stayed put, his free agency future became a matter of which sort of point guard — and how old — teams prefer,” Hollinger detailed. “At 27, he’s much younger (and less accomplished) than the Paul/Conley/Lowry crowd and more of a known commodity than Ball (though smaller). So is Schröder worth the kind of $80-plus million deal that ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported he turned down last month? We’ll find out how teams feel about that question a few months from now.”

The rival will boost the Lakers

Conley had a big impact on the Utah Jazz. He helped the team make the top of the West. The talented point guard is averaging 16.4 points, six assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals.

In February’s interview with Tony Jones from The Athletic, Conley talked about his plans to re-sign with Utah this summer.

“Utah’s got me,” Conley said. “I was talking about this to my wife recently. We love it here. I don’t think I can go anywhere else that plays the way we play. We’ll see this offseason, because when that time comes there will definitely be a lot of chatter. But, from where I sit right now, this team is so unique, in the way we play. And everyone has bought into what we want to do on both ends of the floor.”

Conley has to make the Lakers a top priority. Orchestrating a sign-and-trade is also a must.

Brian Windhorst from ESPN reported that Schroder turned down the four-year extension offer. LA wanted to put him on the trade block.