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There was no love lost between Dennis Schroder and Luka Doncic when the Kings and Lakers faced off at the end of December, and the former was suspended for attempting to assault his opponent in the wake of that contest. However, it may have been more than an attempt based on what he had to say about the incident after the punishment was announced.
Dennis Schroder is currently in the first year of a three-year deal with the Kings where he’ll be earning close to $15 million each season. He’s made close to $120 million since making his NBA debut in 2013, but that number would be even higher if not for the unforced error he committed after he reportedly turned down a four-year, $84 million extension from the Lakers in 2021.
The German guard claims he never officially rejected the offer but rather informed the franchise he’d prefer to wait until the end of the offseason to negotiate a new deal. However, he was nonetheless painted as the victim of a generational bag fumble when you consider he was forced to settle for a one-year, $5.9 million contract with the Celtics after misplaying his hand.
On December 28th, the Lakers hosted the Kings in a contest where Schroder and Luka Doncic found themselves butting heads, and the Slovenian superstar decided to invoke the contract his opponent never signed while they were jawing.
The guard subsequently threatened to “beat the s—t” out of Doncic, and we were treated to a new twist after he was hit with a three-game suspension due to what transpired in the wake of Sacramento’s 125-101 loss.
Dennis Schroder appeared to brag about punching Luka Doncic after he was suspended for attempting to go after him
On Saturday, the NBA announced Schroder would be forced to sit out his next three games for “confronting and attempting to strike another player” after the showdown with the Lakers. The league did not specify who he sought out…in an arena hallway,” but a number of insiders confirmed Doncic was the man in question.
That includes Shams Charania, who relayed the news in an Instagram post where Schroder hopped into the comments and simply said “Attempted” with a couple of emojis while appearing to imply he had managed to make contact with Doncic during the altercation.
It’s hard to imagine why the NBA would engage in a cover-up if Schroder had actually managed to strike Doncic, but it’ll be interesting to see if any more details emerge on this particular front.
The Kings and the Lakers will face off again on Monday night, but Schroder won’t be able to contribute while serving the second game of his forced hiatus.