The Boston Celtics got arguably the biggest steal in NBA free agency when they landed point guard Dennis Schroder using only part of their mid-level exception. Schroder agreed to a one-year, $5.9 million deal, which is a far cry from what he was looking for.
During the season, Schroder reportedly turned down an extension from the Lakers which would have paid him north of $80 million over four years. He thought he could land a bigger deal as a free agent but badly misjudged his market.
With money flying around and sign-and-trade deals getting done, the point guard market quickly dried up. It left Schroder on the outside looking in and he had to settle for that one-year deal with the Celtics.
You won’t find much better value around the NBA in terms of a player’s contract and production that isn’t on a rookie deal. Schroder is averaging 17.1 points, 4.9 assists, 4.0 rebounds and one steal in 33.3 minutes per game. He is an integral part of Boston’s rotation, but could the Celtics look to trade him at some point?
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It seems like a crazy thing to think about now, but it actually makes some sense. As Michael Scotto and Yossi Gozlan pointed out in a recent episode of The HoopsHype Podcast, Schroder is someone that could be on the move following December 15th when players who were signed or traded for during the offseason are eligible to be traded. Part of the reason that Schroder could be on the move is that the Celtics will be limited in what they can offer him in a trade.
“Even if the Celtics want to keep Schroeder long-term, they’re going to have a hard time retaining him. The most they can give him since they only have his non-Bird Rights is a starting salary at $7 million. It could be a four-year deal in the low $30 million range. That’s probably not enough to keep him. If they’d want to pay him more, they’d have to dig into their mid-level exception. They probably won’t have access to the full mid-level exception because they already have so much money dedicated to Tatum, Brown and Smart. It’s going to be a challenge to keep him.”
If the Boston Celtics do not believe they can retain Schroder, it makes sense to explore his market before the trade deadline and see what they can get for him. Having him walk away in free agency next summer without receiving any compensation is not an ideal way of doing business.
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Boston got him as a steal in free agency and could cash in again if they wind up trading him down the line. There are plenty of contending teams that would love to add a player of Dennis Schroder’s caliber to their rotation for the stretch run despite him falling flat for the Los Angeles Lakers last season when they needed him most.
