Dennis Schroder is no longer a free agent after news broke Tuesday that he’d signed a 1-year $5.9M mid level exception with the Celtics. However, the former Lakers’ decision to turn down the maximum extension offered from Los Angeles ($80M+ last year) may come back to haunt him if he isn’t able to have a bounce back year in Boston.
The 6’3” German point guard posted a 15.4pts/5.8ast/1.1stl statline in 61 games with LA in 2021 (all starts). That ppg average was his lowest output since the 2015-16 season when he was a 22 year old with Atlanta.
Schroder lands in a good situation for him to rebuild his market value before becoming a free agent upon season’s end. Boston is currently without a starting point guard following Kemba Walker’s departure in the offseason, so the minutes will certainly be there. He’ll also join a starting unit consisting of Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and some combination of Al Horford & Enes Kanter. None of which are nearly as ball dominant as the likes of LeBron James or Russell Westbrook whom he’d have to battle for playing time had he stayed in Los Angeles.
Which makes Schroder’s decision to sign in Boston the classic case of “betting on himself”. Evidently, he and his camp feel that the $80M left on the table will be well short of what he’ll command when he enters free agency in his age 29 season. But there’s always risk in turning down guaranteed contracts to find out if the grass truly is greener on the other side. Injuries, a down year, or the unknown of future Delta variant waves of the pandemic could all play huge factors in what the market might look like in the summer of 2022.
Boston itself is a largely unknown quantity at this point as well. Once the epitome of stability in the league, one of the association’s flagship franchises suddenly finds itself in uncharted waters. Danny Ainge is out, Brad Stevens is now at the helm of basketball ops as opposed to on the sidelines as a coach, and former Nets assistant Ime Udoka is now the team’s head coach. Such is life in the NBA when a promising season ends with a 7th seed and first round exit in the playoffs.
Yet outside of the Udoka hiring, most of the Celtics personnel changes, and roster moves have largely come from within. Boston is hoping that young guards Romeo Langford, Carsen Edwards, and Payton Pritchard can take the next steps in their development this year. All three are currently playing with Boston’s summer league team in Vegas, averaging 12, 17, and 23pts per game respectively. The Celtics will also be leaning heavily on Center Robert Williams III to spell Kanter and Horford throughout the year.
So while at face value Schroder turning down $80M+ to sign with Boston on a mid level exception may seem foolish, maybe they’ll be the perfect match for one another. A player, and a franchise both seeking the same thing in 2021:
Redemption.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner