Michael Felger and DJ Bean discuss the significance of Kemba Walker joining a division rival of the Celtics.
Will the Boston Celtics find point guard help on the free-agent market after all?
The Celtics are in discussions to sign free-agent guard Dennis Schroder, Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported Friday. The talks are still "ongoing," per Fischer, with no agreement reached yet.
Schroder turned down a four-year, $84 million contract extension offer from the Los Angeles Lakers midway through last season, which appeared to be a grave miscalculation when he went unsigned early in 2021 free agency.
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Forsberg: Extending Smart and Time Lord could open doors for C's
It's unclear what the Celtics could offer Schroder without trimming elsewhere on the roster if their goal is to maintain financial flexibility entering the 2022 offseason. Schroder would fill a need for Boston, though: With Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard topping the point guard depth chart, the C's lack a quality scorer at the position after trading Kemba Walker.
Schroder averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game for the Lakers last season and was the Oklahoma City Thunder's second-leading scorer in 2019-20, putting up 18.9 points per game on 46.9% shooting. He's also a high-energy player who could form a solid defensive backcourt duo with Smart.
If the Celtics sign Schroder to a deal with an annual value north of the $9.5 million midlevel exception, then it's possible another shoe drops in the form of a Smart trade or an expansion of the Tristan Thompson-for-Kris Dunn deal.
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Either way, it appears the wheels are spinning for C's president of basketball operations Brad Stevens amid an offseason of relative inactivity.