As a Lakers legend, Shaquille O’Neal keeps a close eye on what his former team is up to. He also mentioned the case of a flagship rookie of the Pourpres et Ors on his podcast recently… and true to himself, the Hall of Famer did not mince his words.
If the Lakers have failed to recruit a size on the free agent market, their summer moves have at least allowed them to consolidate the lead. Indeed, with the only Russell Westbrook in this position, they were far too poorly equipped and have therefore remedied this problem in recent weeks. If the track Kyrie Irving did not succeed despite great efforts, it was Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schröder who signed a contract with the Californians.
Very good during Eurobasket, where he was elected in the five major of the competition after having led the German selection to the bronze medal, the latter should a priori come off the bench in Los Angeles. It must be said that if he shone during the tournament played at home, he remains on a very complicated 2021-22 campaign between Boston and Houston, which he played at minimum wage. Recall that he had refused 80 million over four years from the… Lakers a year ago, convinced of being worth more.
Except that no franchise wanted to pay the former Hawks at this point and he was therefore entitled to a brutal return to reality, as well as a host of punchlines and humiliating comments. These are still relevant, after he returned to the Purples and Golds for a season and a little over two million green tickets. On his own podcast, Shaquille O’Neal was particularly ruthless towards Dennis the Menace:
Shaq’s ultra-cash punchline on Dennis Schröder
First of all, 2.6 million dollars is 1.3 million dollars in California (because of taxes, editor’s note). Besides, I had seen him in Atlanta, he had Ferraris and Lamborghinis. So he’s playing for free this year. This man had a camouflage Lamborghini the last time I saw him.
The punchline is salty, but difficult to contradict the Hall of Famer. Indeed, DS has been displayed in the past with large displacements, of which it is very fond:
Suffice to say that he wants to be able to find a real role in LA, he will have to put his bling-bling side in the closet and concentrate exclusively on the floors. The good news is that his first freelance with LeBron James & co. had gone fairly well, the interested party turning to more than 15 points and 6 assists on average. If he can make a similar contribution, this time in the systems of new manager Darvin Ham, the latter may offer him more responsibility during the campaign.
Dennis Schröder has often been questioned because of his attitude in the past, which also led to his total flop during the 2021 offseason. It remains to be seen if he has learned the right lessons from it, now that he has once again settled in Los Angeles.
