Schroder’s loss in free agency may turn into the Celts’ gain
It would be easy to say the Celtics’ offseason wassavedbyDennisSchroder’sdecisiontoturn down $84 million from the Lakers.
And that’s an accurate assessment.
Schroder’smistakenbeliefthathewouldearn inexcessof$100millioninthefreeagentmarket and evaporating salary cap space because of expeditious free agent signings had Schroder, a top-10-15 point guard in the NBA, looking for a team, and the Celtics pounced.
The Celtics were poised to score in free agency because of their patience, but this is a bigger boon than they could have imagined. Schroder is a $15 million-per-year player based on his production, and Boston nabbed him for one year and $5.9 million.
Not only does Schroder upgrade the Celtics’ roster, new president of basketball operations Brad Stevens retains cap space for a max contractplayernextsummer.Schroderispartof theCeltics’plantocompetethiscomingseason without sacrificing the opportunity to chase Bradley Beal or Zach LaVine next summer.
A rising salary cap in recent years has eliminatedtheNBA’smiddleclass.Playersareeither getting lucrative contracts at more than their value or being forced to sign for less than their
worth. The Celtics were unable to sign Evan Fournier, who has never averaged 20 points in a season, because they were unwilling to offer him $20 million annually.
A team with cap space and the desperation to win immediately can afford to be generous, such as the four-year, $78 million contract the Knicks gave Fournier. It’s the type of contract the Knicks have executed before — remember the $72 million over four years for Joakim
Noah? — but deeply regretted.
Stevensisnotgoingtoofferupafrivolousdeal thathemaysoonregret.Hispredecessor,Danny Ainge, gave Kemba Walker a maximum deal that brought remorse after one season.
StevensisgoingtobecarefulwiththeCeltics’ finances. The club previously secured Jayson TatumandJaylenBrowntolong-termcontracts and recently acquired Josh Richardson and signed Schroder and Enes Kanter. All three are on expiring contracts.
Can the Celtics compete for the Eastern Conference title while saving save enough cap space for a maximum-salary player next year? It’s possible, but Stevens has to be astute with his remaining roster moves. The Celtics have 15playersontheirrosterifyouincluderecently acquiredKrisDunnandJabariParker,whodoes not have a guaranteed contract.
There are still free agents available, such as James Ennis and Wesley Matthews, players who could come cheap and be useful in new coach Ime Udoka’s system. Stevens decided quickly that the way to approach this offseason, especially with the Celtics trying to avoid the luxury tax, was to be careful in free agency, even if that meant getting passed on paper.
Brooklyn, Charlotte, Miami, Washington and Chicago improved through free agency and trades, while Milwaukee and Philadelphia stood pat but will be favorites to win the East. The Celtics, before signing Schroder, had been left behind, but they scored a quality free agent because there wasn’t enough money to go around. The Bulls gave four years and $80 milliontoLonzoBall,whohadfallenoutoffavor inNewOrleans.TheLakersreplacedSchroder bytradingforRussellWestbrook.TheWizards replaced Westbrook with Spencer Dinwiddie at three years and $54 million.