Report: LeBron James has wanted to play with Dennis Schroder for a while

The Los Angeles Lakers’ acquisition of veteran guard Dennis Schroder brings to the team a player that Lakers star LeBron James has been eager to play with for years.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst appeared on Zach Lowe’s podcast and indicated that Schroder has been a player the Lakers have kept an eye on, with James no doubt endorsing any attempts to acquire him.

“They almost traded for him at the deadline in 2019 and they didn’t. There’s been a lot of interest there for a while,” Windhorst said. “The Lakers have wanted, for a while, to get, and I know they’re very different players, but Rob Pelinka has been very interested in Dennis Schröder and very interested in Derrick Rose.”

Windhorst went into detail about James’ affinity for Schroder.

“LeBron really likes his game,” he said. “LeBron’s wanted to play with him for a while. Like I said, they almost traded for him before.”

The 27-year-old Schroder was the 17th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft. He spent his first five seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2018.

The Thunder and Lakers agreed to a deal in principle over this past weekend.

James faced off against Schroder countless times during his second tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2018 and knows what he can contribute to the Lakers.

In addition to James’ enthusiasm, Anthony Davis has also expressed his excitement over the addition of Schroder as the Lakers seek to defend their NBA title.