The Los Angeles Lakers’ first offseason as defending champs since 2010 has so far gone about ad perfectly as one could expect. Only one moment has truly been worthy of raising an eyebrow and that was Dennis Schröder, the recently acquired point guard, telling the media that he is coming to LA with the expectation of being a starter.
Schröder’s new head coach, Frank Vogel, wasn’t quite as willing to make that statement, telling the media on Friday that it was “way to soon” to decide his starting lineup. Vogel, however, did say that he will give “strong consideration” to Schröder for that position, on the heels of a career year with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Here’s Silver Screen and Roll’s Harrison Faigen with the full transcript of Vogel’s praise and consideration for Schröder:
It's safe to say that Frank Vogel is a fan of the moves Rob Pelinka made this offseason. pic.twitter.com/Xb5OTPoHZ0
— NBA INSIDER HARRISON FAIGEN (@hmfaigen) December 5, 2020
When Schröder was first acquired, most expected him to play off the bench alongside Montrezl Harrell, considering the two finished as the top two in sixth man of the year voting last season. Schröder was effectively billed as the primary playmaker when LeBron James took the bench.
Still, Vogel, who has had high praise for the German point guard ever since the Lakers traded for him, has been known to be a little unconventional with starting lineup to get the best role for every player. Last year, Avery Bradley started most games when healthy at the point guard position despite better players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso being on the roster.
It seems, right now, that Vogel will wait through training camp and the preseason to make a decision on who will join James and Anthony Davis in his starting lineup, which really should be the way he handles this. With the culture the Lakers have built over the past year and a half, one would expect the players to fall in line with whatever decision the coach makes.
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