Hawks PG Dennis Schröder says he wants to start, will look for other opportunities if he doesn’t

Dennis Schröder made huge strides in his second season, averaging 10.0 points and 4.1 assists in 19.7 minutes per game. Just 22, Schröder has shown an impressive ability to drive and make plays off the bounce. His future looks bright.

One problem: The Hawks’ starting point guard is Jeff Teague, who’s just 27, an All-Star and has a strong record of improvement himself.

Schröder, via Bild (via Sport1) (as translated by E. Carchia of Sportando):

“My goal is to start as point guard” Schroder said. “If this doesn’t happen, I will look for other opportunities” added the German talent. “The Hawks are a great team, the city is nice and everything is perfect now. Teague? He was an All-Star and he helped me a lot. I must be patient and work hard and eventually I’ll have my opportunities” ended Schroder.

Schröder and Teague are both under contract for two more seasons, though Atlanta can make Schröder a restricted free agent in 2018. Teague will be unrestricted.

It’ll be difficult for Schröder to force the Hawks’ hand until then. He’s an asset as a productive backup point guard on a low-paying rookie-scale contract. They’re not going to deal him unless they get value in return.

The best thing Schröder can do is, as he says, remain patient and work hard. Keep developing. Convince a team that he’d make a good starting point guard.

If someone values Schröder as a starter, that team might offer enough in a trade to sway Atlanta, which sees Schröder as a backup. Or if Schröder really progresses, maybe the Hawks would trade Teague to elevate Schröder.

Schröder would start on just a few teams in the league right now. He needs to increase that number, because Atlanta holds significant leverage over him. The more teams that would trade for him, the better chance he has of escaping Teague’s shadow.