Dennis Schröder’s announcement on Instagram yesterday smacked of exuberance. “I’m proud to announce that for the 2021-22 season, I’ll be playing with the Boston Celtics,” he said, giving the distinct impression that he had angled for the development. “This is one of the best franchises in NBA history and it will be an honor to put on the green and white and do what I love. I’m going out there every night and leaving it all on the floor for the city!! Who’s ready?!” Forget that the post actually had him in a green-and-black uniform and featured a black background with a couple of four-leaf clovers. Casual observers who didn’t know better would have pegged him as ecstatic.
In truth, shocked is the adjective that more aptly describes Schröder’s sentiment. After all, he could do no better than affix his Hancock on a $5.9-million taxpayer midlevel exception — a number that belied his previous pronouncements of his worth. And just to buttress the point, fans need only note that he saw fit to turn down a four-year, $84-million extension offer from the Lakers in March. That he couldn’t even get the full midlevel exception of $9.5 million in his free agency bid speaks volumes of the yawning gap between how he regards himself and how others regard him.
Perhaps Schröder would have attracted more suitors had he come up with a respectable showing during the Lakers’ one-and-done appearance in the playoffs. Instead, he got progressively worse as the first round progressed. And, for the most part, his uneven campaign, even in the regular season, exposed his breakthrough run with the Thunder in the previous season as the exception rather than the rule. He was good, transcendent even, as a sixth man for the lottery-bound blue and yellow, so it was but logical to expect him to thrive with stars of the purple and gold. Instead, his stock swooned.
Schröder’s experience provides a cautionary tale for players who overestimate their value. No doubt, he was likewise handicapped by wrong timing; despite his rejection of the Lakers’ initial overture, he still could have been primed for a return had the dominos not fallen the way they did. Once the trade for nine-time All-Star Russell Westbrook was consummated, he became both expendable and expensive. Which redounded to the benefit of the Celtics.
Needless to say, Schröder figures to make use of his 2021-22 campaign as an audition for a big payday in the next offseason. How much of an opportunity he will get remains to be seen; with scrappy Marcus Smart already at the point, he may well be coming off the bench anew. In any case, he has no choice. He wasn’t careful with what he asked for, and he’s now paying the price.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
