The Los Angeles Lakers spent the offseason reworking their roster around LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, trying to get more defensive players, more youth, and more shooting depth around their trio of stars.
With the lack of cap space and having to operate with veteran minimums, they did have to fill out the roster with some older players, including an old friend in Dennis Schröder as a late addition to the roster. However, Schröder dealt with visa issues on his way back to the U.S. after EuroBasket and missed much of camp and, once he did arrive, quickly suffered a thumb injury that has now required surgery, with Darvin Ham announcing he’ll miss three to four weeks to start the season.
Dennis Schroder underwent a procedure to repair a ligament in his thumb today, according to Lakers coach Darvin Ham. He is expected to be sidelined 3-4 weeks, per Ham.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 17, 2022
That is obviously a blow for a team a bit thin at point guard, which will now rely even more heavily on Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, and Patrick Beverley — and surely some time with LeBron on the ball as the primary initiator as well. The first test for the Lakers will come Tuesday night as they travel north to San Francisco to face the Warriors on ring night, and they’ll do so without their full accompaniment of point guards as Schröder recovers.
