Predicting landing spots for 2 recent Boston Celtics players

Former Boston Celtics player No. 2) Dennis Schroder

After having a down 2020-21 season serving as the starting point guard for the defending champions, Los Angeles Lakers, Dennis Schroder struggled to find a home after turning down a reported $84 million extension with the team.

After an extended stay in free agency, the German-born baller ultimately settled for a one-year, $5.9 million taxpayer mid-level exception contract with the Boston Celtics where he would find himself once again serving as a high usage bench player.

His time in Massachusetts was quite impressive, as he posted averages of 14.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.3 boards on 35 percent shooting from deep, but rather short-lived.

By the mid-way point of the campaign, it seemed that Schroder was playing himself right out of the cash-strapped C’s hands with free agency just a few short months away, so, to play it safe and not lose him for nothing in the offseason, Brad Stevens and co. shipped him out to Houston in exchange for a frontcourt booster in Daniel Theis.

From then on out, the guard finished off his campaign with overall averages of 13.5 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds which, on the surface seem pretty solid. Unfortunately, however, this hasn’t helped him land a new home in free agency and, for the second year in a row, the man remains unsigned well into the period.

Still only 28 years old while playing the most important position in the sport, we don’t expect Schroder to remain unsigned once the regular season rolls around, especially considering that there are several teams across the league who could use a player of his skill set.

Predicted landing spot: Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks may have addressed and improved upon numerous areas within their rotation this offseason, but the loss of Jalen Brunson significantly mitigates all the additions the front office has gone on to make.

A key part of the Western Conference runner-up’s core last season, the 25-year-old guard served as a major contributor within coach Jason Kidd’s scheme, particularly on the offensive side of the ball where he put up per-game averages of 16.3 points and 4.8 assists per game.

Now in New York after inking a lucrative deal with the Knickerbockers, the Mavericks–who, mind you, were still a pedestrian 14th overall in offensive ranking even with Brunson’s brilliance–find themselves with both a sizeable hole within their backcourt as well as within their offensive pecking order.

This is where a guy like Schroder could be of great service.

Throughout his nine-year pro-career, the point guard has made a name for himself as an impactful offensive creator who, during his NBA tenure, has generated averages of 19.6 points and 6.4 assists per 75 possessions.

Likely to serve as a high usage sixth man if brought aboard to this team, just a few short years back (2019-20) we saw the veteran put up an astounding 18.9 points and four assists on 47 percent shooting from the floor and 38.5 percent shooting from deep while finishing second in the running for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award.

On what’s bound to be yet another low-cost contract, a pairing between the Dallas Mavericks and Dennis Schroder seems to be a match made in heaven.