Dennis Schroder became one of the hottest topic during the NBA off-season and free agency. After reportedly turning down a four-year, $84 million contract extension from the Los Angeles Lakers, Schroder didn’t received the same amount of offer from any other team. Instead, he settled on a one-year, $5.9 million deal to play for the Boston Celtics.
Schroder was attacked by the fans and his haters on social media. He was also been the subject of the memes this summer for declining the contract extension from his former team.
During the media day of the Celtics, Schroder talked about the reported contract extension he received from the Lakers. The 6’3 point guard told the reporters that he never really had the contract in front of him.
“At the end of the day, I never had that contract in front of me. They wanted to talk, and at the end of the day, me and my agent decided not to sign that contract. For me, personally, I’ve got to be comfortable in the environment I’m in,” Schroder told reporters at the Celtics’ practice facilities in Brighton. “I love the Lakers organization and they did some great things. But it’s just business” He said.
The 17th pick of the 2013 NBA draft also said that the reason why he didn’t come back to the Lakers because he don’t think he’ll fit with the team.
“I don’t think I fit in 100 percent. You play with LeBron and [Anthony Davis], two of the best players in the NBA, I don’t think I gave them everything that I bring to the table.” Schroder explained.
The 28-year-old player out of Germany could start along Marcus Smart for the upcoming season or either came off the bench where he produced better numbers during his Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder’s playing years.
Schroder averaged decent numbers of 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals on 32.1 minutes per game last season. He’ll try to have a better performance this year to make another run for a big contract in next year’s free agency.