The Los Angeles Lakers have started contract extension talks with their point guard Dennis Schroder and those talks are expected to speed up as soon as mid-February.

According to ESPN, Schroder had turned down an initial extension offer from the Lakers at the start of the season. It is believed that the contract was for an additional two years and $33.4 million. It was the maximum allowed price the Lakers could offer him before February 16.

Schroder entered the final year with a $15.5 million contract and he has now become eligible to extend the contract more years and even more money, as far as $83 million.

The 27-year-old had a strong debut for the Lakers against the Clippers on Tuesday. He scored 14 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds and also delivered a point guard dimension that the franchise hasn’t owned in many years.

The Lakers had acquired Schroder in a multiteam trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and it cost them their guard Danny Green and a 2021 first-round pick.

There is a realistic opportunity that the Lakers, Schroder and his agent, Alex Saratsis, will find a landing spot in terms of market-value extension as the Lakers can offer a starting salary of $18.6 million starting with the 2021-22 season. Moreover, the Lakers posses Schroder’s Bird rights to go beyond the salary cap in re-signing him if the deal doesn’t go through before the off season.

However, losing Schroder to free agency will leave the Lakers with only $9.5 million midlevel exception available to use in free agency. So far, Schroder has featured in seven NBA seasons with Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City and has reached the playoffs six times. It includes one of his best overall campaign as well, as he averaged 18.9 points, four assists, four rebounds and a nearly 38.5% 3-point shooting rate with the Thunder in 2019-20.