Dennis Schroder has had a turbulent year, to say the least. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers before the 2020-2021 season and he actually was fairly productive in his time there.
However, after contracting COVID-19, his play in the Lakers’ short postseason campaign was lackluster. Many assumed that Schroder would re-sign with the Lakers, however, that did not end up coming to fruition.
The exact reasoning that led to the end of his Lakers tenure is disputed, but it is rumored that Schroder rejected a four-year, $84 million dollar contract from Los Angeles. After many of the major pieces of free agency fell into place, Schroder had still failed to come to another agreement with the Lakers or any other team.
Many jokes were made at his expense after he seemingly passed up on such a large contract. However, soon enough, Schroder did find himself on a new NBA team, just not on the contract he might have expected.
NBA Trades: 3 potential landing spots for Dennis Schroder
Schroder signed a one-year, $5.9 million dollar deal to play for the Boston Celtics. Many labeled this contract as a “prove it” deal to allow Schroder to prove his worth for the following summer while providing a boost off the bench for a Celtics team that needed his scoring.
To this point, this pairing has actually worked fairly well. Schroder is averaging a fairly efficient 14.4 points in about 30 minutes a game. With injuries and health and safety protocols shredding the league, Schroder has spent a fair amount of time in the starting lineup, as well as a sixth man.
The Boston Celtics have had their share of struggles this season, but recently they have surged up in the standings and have started to look like the team many expected them to be.
All this begs the question, why could he be moved at the deadline? Well, frankly there are several reasons. First, it is rumored that the Celtics are hoping to duck under the luxury tax, and shedding Schroder’s contract off the books would help them in that regard.
As for on the court reasoning, Schroder’s fit in Boston’s lineup has looked questionable at times. His counting stats are solid, however, some argue that he has some “ball stopping” tendencies, and could be used to trade for a better fitting player.
It is even rumored that Boston has several trade offers on the table from various teams around the league. So, let’s take a look at three potential NBA trades for Dennis Schroder before Thursday’s trade deadline.