Report: Where Schroder, Celtics stand in contract negotiations

Share

We heard last week that the Boston Celtics were in discussions to sign point guard Dennis Schroder in free agency. So, what's the holdup?

The Celtics are waiting to hear from Schroder after offering him a one-year contract with the possibility of a player option in Year 2, Brian Robb of MassLive.com reports.

Boston can use its full midlevel exception ($9.5 million) on Schroder, but doing so would "hard cap" the team and force president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to stay under the $143 million threshold throughout the season, limiting any other moves the team could make.

Forsberg: Why extending Smart and Time Lord makes sense for C's

The Celtics' more desirable route is to avoid the hard cap by offering Schroder the $5.9 million taxpayer midlevel exception, which according to ESPN's Jordan Schultz is what they've done.

Either deal would represent a significant pay cut from the four-year, $84 million extension Schroder turned down from the Los Angeles Lakers last season. But Robb reports that Schroder's free-agent options have "dried up" in the past week, and that there currently aren't any playoff-caliber teams that can offer Schroder more than the full midlevel exception or are willing to send assets to the Lakers as part of a sign-and-trade.

Schroder, who averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game for the Lakers last season, would have the opportunity to form a point guard duo with Marcus Smart in Boston or become the starting point guard if Smart shifts to shooting guard, where he played with Kemba Walker in the lineup last year.

Whether the Celtics can get him to accept a bargain-level deal at the $5.9 million taxpayer MLE for that opportunity remains to be seen, but the Boston Herald's Mark Murphy reports Schroder at least is on board with a one-year contract.

Contact Us