Friday October 15, 2021
“Just win” in Boston?
For Schröder there is now a lot of money at stake
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Dennis Schröder rejects 84 million dollars in the spring – and is then without a club for a long time in the summer. The national player is now starting the new season with record champions Boston. In which it is also important for him to recommend himself for a lucrative contract offer.
Dennis Schröder floated in Boston in a private jet, and a little later Germany’s basketball star moved into the chic new family home with his wife Ellen and their two children. The 28-year-old is opening a crucial chapter in his career with the NBA record champions Boston Celtics. After the failed million-dollar poker game at the Los Angeles Lakers, he has to prove himself again.
“I just want to win, win everything. Everything else doesn’t count,” said Schröder after his arrival at the end of September. In the preparation he didn’t make a big impression, in the first test he scored six points. He missed the two after that – he was bothered by a slight knee bruise anyway. The dress rehearsal at the Miami Heat takes place on Saturday night before things get serious next week.
Right from the start, from the tip-off of the opening game next Thursday at the New York Knicks, Schröder is in the focus of critics. He was ridiculed when he turned down a $ 84 million offer for four years with the Lakers last season.
In the end, he had to settle for a one-year contract worth 5.9 million. Schröder does not see that he has “gambled away”. “I’m 28 years old and I’ll be playing in the NBA for a long time. Money isn’t everything,” said the international: “I want to feel comfortable in a situation in which I know that people appreciate me.”
“My family and I will be fine”
But with the longed-for championship it will be difficult, in the east alone, the Brooklyn Nets and defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are particularly strong. With the Lakers, in the no less strong West, the chances would be greater thanks to the superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but Schröder apparently didn’t feel very comfortable in California.
Although he only spoke positively about the club, he had the feeling that he was not “100 percent” fit. “I don’t think I gave them everything I had to offer,” said Schröder, who had an average of 15.4 points for LA in the past season. He was particularly criticized for his poor performance in the playoffs when the Lakers failed in the first round.
Although he never had a paper contract for the 84 million offer, the Lakers would have wanted to negotiate after the season, as Schröder reported – in the end, however, Schröder wanted to explore his options on the market. And ended up in Boston, where he is in the same predicament as the year before in LA.
He has to recommend himself with a one-year contract for a better one in 2022. Schröder doesn’t have to worry about money, because in LA and before that at the Oklahoma City Thunder he always cashed around 15 million dollars a year. After his fourth year in the NBA, he “signed a pretty good contract,” said Schröder, “and my family and I will be fine.” Whether in Boston or elsewhere.
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