The Los Angeles Lakers did not just watch Dennis Schroder get traded again...they watched two potential fixes disappear in the same deal. Schroder’s latest move sent De’Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings and Keon Ellis to the Cleveland Cavaliers, removing two players Los Angeles had been linked to ahead of the deadline. That is what stings.
Schroder was part of a three-team trade involving the Cavaliers, Kings, and Chicago Bulls, with Chicago collecting Dario Saric and future second-round picks. For most teams, it is routine deadline business. For the Lakers, it was a reminder of how thin their margin has become.