Who wants to break the news to Dennis Schroder?
One day after the Celtics defeated the Heat to advance to the NBA Finals, the veteran guard who played 49 unmemorable games with Boston this season showed off his old massive tattoo of “Lucky” on Instagram.
“Finals!!! Special group,” Schroder wrote with four accompanying green clovers.
That’s a touching sentiment, except Schroder is no longer on the team.
Sad!
Schroder, 28, signed a one-year deal with the Celtics after turning down a four-year, $88 million extension from the Lakers and not being able to match it on the free agent market. Schroder’s decision cost him more than $80 million.
And turned him into a laughingstock.
There was some optimism Schroder would come into Boston with a prove-it attitude and recapture his status as an electric sixth-man. But that didn’t work out. While Schroder averaged 14.4 points per game with the Celtics, he never gelled with his teammates and was an ineffective distributor. The Celtics dealt him to the Rockets at the trade deadline for Daniel Theis.
Then they acquired Derrick White in a separate deal with the Spurs. White played a great series against the Heat, locking down their shooters and averaging 14.3 points per night over the final four games.
Adding insult to injury — or in this case, the leg tat — the Celtics didn’t turn around their season until after the trade deadline. That might just be a coincidence, but it still must sting.
Maybe some IG love will cheer Schroder up.