Dennis Schroder Calls Out Raptors' Culture After Embarrassing Loss To The Pistons

The Detroit Pistons snapped their historic 28-game losing streak with a 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night. It was an embarrassing result for the Raptors, who have now dropped to 12-20, and Dennis Schroder called out their culture after the loss.

"I mean, the culture is just a different culture," Schroder said. "When I got here, (head coach) Darko (Rajakovic) did a great job just putting his system to the organization but I think we just got to follow that. Everybody being unselfish, share the ball."

Schroder stated that you can win a few games with one or two players going off, but everyone has to contribute for the Raptors to be a winning team.

"Even the guys who don't really play, people got to be grateful cheering on their teammates when they get a stop or when they get on the floor or dive. Pick them up being excited for another," Schroder continued. 

The 30-year-old then spoke about how different the culture was when he was with the German national team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where they won gold.

"I mean I don't want to go deep into that but I need to feel that," Schroder stated. "I mean in the summer... I went to war with all my brothers from the national team but we knew we had each other and I mean I don't feel it here yet like that... At the end of the day, if you keep playing like this, nobody's gonna win."

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That was rather blunt on Schroder's part there, and he is certainly firing some shots when he says players have to be unselfish and have to cheer for each other. Schroder also stated that he is trying every day to build relationships, but added that it is difficult, as the NBA is quite individualistic. 

Perhaps these internal problems are a reason why the Raptors decided it was time to blow it up. They had resisted the urge to start afresh previously, even acquiring Jakob Poeltl at the midway stage last season in a win-now move.

They still failed to make the playoffs and after a rough start to this season, finally changed their stance. Toronto started its rebuild by trading OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks, and we can expect more moves to follow. 

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Dennis Schroder Could Get Traded 

While Pascal Siakam is the next big name expected to be shipped out of town, Schroder could be the one as well. RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley have arrived as part of the Anunoby deal, and they make Schroder rather expendable. 

A player still in his prime like him would also be out of place in a rebuilding team, and I expect the Raptors to trade him to acquire more draft capital. Schroder is averaging 14.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game this season, and can be a solid contributor on a playoff team.

He was that for the Los Angeles Lakers last season and teams that are looking for some help at point guard could use his services. His contract isn't a terrible one either, as he just signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the Raptors this past offseason. A reunion with the Lakers might potentially be on the cards.

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