Dennis Schroder’s decision to sign with the Boston Celtics for $5.9 million ended one of the more chaotic free agency runs in recent memory.
During the regular season, Schroder very vehemently rejected an $84 million contract extension from the Los Angeles Lakers because he strongly assumed he was worth more than $100 million.
Needless to say – he wasn’t.
Schroder, after realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere near the deal he was expecting, originally demanded the full mid-level exception from Boston — which is $9.5M. He also wanted a second-year option. Unfortunately, his lack of leverage made any such demands unfeasible. He was forced to take what was given to him and agree to serve as a backup next year.
Because he had such a disastrous offseason, many are under the impression that nobody wanted Schroder. Not true. There was interest in him – just not at the price he was looking for.
In a recent column, Wes Goldberg of The Mercury News reported that the Golden State Warriors had interest in adding Schroder to the roster. Ultimately, however, he opted to go in a different direction.
“According to a league source, the Warriors did inquire about Dennis Schroder,” he wrote. “But the former Los Angeles Lakers point guard on Tuesday signed with the Boston Celtics for the full taxpayer mid-level exception.”
Based on the context, it’s unclear if Golden State was unwilling to give Schroder the full taxpayer mid-level or whether it was a playing time situation. Although the recently re-signed Marcus Smart will obviously be Boston’s starter next year, there is a far greater likelihood that he will play less than someone like Stephen Curry.
Wow D’Angelo Russell. https://t.co/1lJSdt365O
— Game 7 (@game7__) August 15, 2021
Schroder’s offseason was so bad that, once he finally signed with the Celtics, he had to come out and issue a defiant 5-word response to the whole fiasco. Then his wife had to do the same.
Everyone from NBA legends to NBA fans has clowned him in the meantime.
This is going to be a big year for Schroder. Either he will prove all his doubters wrong and earn a big contract for the next few seasons – or he’ll really come to rue the day he turned down the Lakers’ extension.
Related: Russell Westbrook Gets Brutally Honest About Lakers Future
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
