On Wednesday, NBA teams will be able to trade players whom they signed as free agents last offseason. That means the Celtics could be busy.
Rival teams expect the C’s to be open to dealing veteran guard Dennis Schroder, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The reasoning is financially based: Schroder is playing above his $5.9 million mid-level exception. Since the Celtics will likely be unable to re-sign him, they might as well see if they can extract value for him now. The 28-year-old guard is averaging 17.5 points and 4.9 assists per game.
Schroder infamously turned down an $84 million extension from the Lakers, only to see his free agent market crumble. For a brief moment, the dynamic guard was the laughingstock of the league, with even ESPN anchors guffawing at his predicament.
He’s been a valuable piece on a Celtics team that lacks offensive depth, though he’s struggled defensively. Schroder also assists on just 23.9% of his teammates’ shots — putting him in the bottom seventh percentile among guards.
The Celtics should be a viable contender in the Eastern Conference, but if they continue to sputter around .500, it would make sense to shop Schroder ahead of February’s trade deadline. Any assets the Celtics could receive for him — even a second-round pick — would be more valuable than an expiring contract.
Trading Schroder isn’t the only move the Celtics could make. Over the weekend, ESPN’s Zach Lowe speculated the Celtics are in position to “do something interesting” on the trade market. Meanwhile, NBA Insider Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report predicted the Celtics will part ways with Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum over the next 12-18 months. An anonymous GM recently told him there’s “widespread belief” Brown and Tatum don’t play well together.
Maybe Schroder will be one of the first dominos to fall.