Orlando Magic Receive: G Dennis Schroder, LAL 2024 2nd Round Pick
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: G Terrence Ross, C Khem Birch
The Lakers acquired Dennis Schroder in the offseason from the Oklahoma City Thunder and he has been fantastic in his secondary role next to Davis and LeBron. Schroder has missed just a couple of games this season and is currently averaging 14.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and is shooting 43.6% from the floor.
Not only has he taken a ton of pressure off of LeBron James this year by being a secondary ball-handler and facilitator, but he has also given this Lakers’ offense a spark due to his natural scoring abilities. Schroder is not an overly aggressive guard offensively, but he is very sound and you know what you are getting with him.
Given that the Orlando Magic have been destroyed by injuries this season, particularly in their backcourt, they could be a team that shows interest in acquiring another guard near the trade deadline and with Dennis Schroder being in the final year of his contract, it could make sense for them to target him.
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Ultimately, it seems like the Magic are not going to make the playoffs, which is why dumping some larger contracts and picking up future value could be the direction they head in. Terrence Ross has been a great player off-the-bench for them this year, averaging about 16.0 points per game, but he is owed $37.5M through 2022. He will be a key name to watch in NBA trade rumors as the deadline approaches.
Getting rid of his contract now frees up a lot of cap space moving into free agency next year and for years beyond, allowing the Orlando Magic to try and figure out ways to potentially build themselves into something special in the Eastern Conference. They have the young talent and a superstar center to be able to potentially build something, which is why their focus should already be on the offseason and the potential moves they can make then.
Both Terrence Ross and Khem Birch are both impactful players and with the Lakers needing more depth, especially in their frontcourt with Davis being injured, going out and getting two highly skilled players that they could utilize in their second-unit could make a ton of sense.
With that said, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade could potentially make sense for both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic.
