Getty Dennis Schroder is still a free agent.
Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder is signing with the Boston Celtics on a one-year, $5.9 million deal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Celtics had an offer on the table, but Schroder weighed his options after being in a “state of shock.”
“He’s only interested in one year, and then getting back out there,” a source told the Boston Herald. “…He needs time — I think he’s in a state of shock because of what he’s done.”
Schroder turned down a four-year, $84 million offer from the Lakers last season, a decision which ended up losing the guard millions of dollars. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Schroder was seeking more than $20 million annually, but his most likely outcome became a one-year deal for the exception. The Boston Herald also added Schroder was searching for a starting gig, and the Celtics “pitch” involved the Lakers free agent backing up Marcus Smart.
“The Celtics await word from Dennis Schroder, the free agent point guard left out in the cold when teams went elsewhere during the spending spree over the first three days of free agency,” Boston Herald detailed. “But according to a league source, the Celtics and the former Laker agree on one thing thus far — contract length.”
Schroder Was Pushing for the Full Mid-Level Exception
Prior to Schroder making his decision, ESPN’s Jordan Schultz reported the Celtics offered Schroder their taxpayer exception, but the guard was holding out for the full mid-level exception. Schroder clearly had to compromise given he had limited options as free agency progressed.
“Celtics have offered Dennis Schroder a one-year deal – at the taxpayer $5.9M MLE – per league sources,” Schultz noted on Twitter. “The current hold up for Schroder is twofold: He wants the full MLE – which is $9.5M – and also seeks a second-year player option. Boston doesn’t want to be hard-capped.”
Schroder had little leverage as there did not appear to be a bidding war developing to sign him in free agency. Spotrac’s Keith Smith expected the Celtics to “hold firm” with their original offer.
“Boston should hold firm here,” Smith tweeted. “It’s unlikely Schroder has anything else to leverage this offer against. This is a role where he’ll play major minutes on a good team. Not sure where else he’s finding that at this point either.”
Schroder Was Also Linked to a Potential Reunion with the Thunder
The Celtics appeared to show the most interest, but NBA insider Marc Stein saw the Thunder as a darkhorse candidate to sign Schroder. Stein also added that the Knicks’ interest in Schroder diminished in free agency, especially after adding Kemba Walker.
“It’s purely a theory passed on by a rival team, but there is certainly some sense behind the idea: Maybe a return to Oklahoma City on a one-year contract that exceeds the league’s $9.5 million midlevel exception emerges as a scenario to rescue Dennis Schröder from his free agent nightmare,” Stein detailed.
“The Thunder know Schröder well after his two productive seasons with them and wouldn’t be drastically altering the trajectory of their season or their future plans on a short-term deal that also establishes Schröder as a trade chip. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is obviously the point guard of the present and future in OKC after agreeing to a five-year max rookie scale extension worth in excess of $170 million earlier this week, but it’s a serious strain to try to come up with any other destination where Schröder could recoup a decent fraction of the $84 million he passed on during the season in an extension offer from the Lakers in what appears poised to go down as one of costliest decisions in league history.”
In the end, Schroder compromised on nearly everything from landing a starting spot to playing for the taxpayer exception. The key is the new deal allows Schroder to re-enter free agency in 2022.
Schroder was placed on the COVID list to close out the regular season, and the Lakers’ first-round playoff exit also did the guard little favors. The chances of Schroder re-signing with the Lakers for another season greatly diminished after the team signed Kendrick Nunn with their exception just a week after trading for Russell Westbrook.