Berlin – Basically, Germany’s best basketball professional has no other chance before the start of the season in the NBA: Dennis Schröder has to see the developments of the past months positively and look ahead. In the million-dollar poker with the Los Angeles Lakers, he gambled away completely. Because of unsolvable insurance issues, he missed the Olympic participation with the German team in Tokyo. At the Boston Celtics he plays again with one of the two record champions of the NBA (the Lakers also have 17 titles), but also for a team in transition, with no real chance of the championship and for a comparatively modest annual salary of around six million US dollars -Dollar. Modest compared to the £ 84 million over four years that the Lakers were reportedly willing to pay in the spring.
“I’m 28 years old and I’ll be playing in the NBA for a long time. Money isn’t everything, ”he said. The contract in Boston now only runs for this one season, and Schröder’s bill could be something like this: convince with the Celtics, be as coveted as in his strong last year with the Oklahoma City Thunder and then as a free transfer professional with an NBA -Sign a team where the overall package fits – sportily, financially and for the family. With the game at the New York Knicks on the German night on Thursday (1.30 a.m.), the restart should succeed.
The Los Angeles Lakers issue is over
In order for that to work, he tried to end this tiresome story with the contract with the Lakers once and for all. In a social media post on his 28th birthday, he actively challenged his fans to the best jokes in mid-September. “I’ll do this ONCE!” He wrote. “It’s my birthday. So let’s get it over with and then get back to business. “
From an observer’s perspective, it was quite astonishing to see that Schröder refrained from playing alongside superstar LeBron James and Anthony Davis in a city by the sea with beautiful weather and receiving a princely annual salary. When he introduced himself in Boston, however, he also pointed out that he actually never actually had the said contract in front of him. The (athletic) chemistry with the two Lakers alpha men was probably just not there.
“It’s of course difficult when you play with two of the best players in the world to bring your own game,” he told The Athletic recently. Sometimes your own game just doesn’t fit an organization or another player. “And I don’t mean that in a negative way when it comes to a player.” The doubts were big enough – and for a long time also the belief that there are enough other teams in the NBA that are ready to dig deep into their pockets for his own Services.
But that turned out to be a blatant miscalculation, and so gradually teams with less financial leeway came into the race – this in turn recognized Schröder’s long-time teammate at the Atlanta Hawks and the Oklahoma City Thunder: Al Horford. He contacted his former teammate via Instagram and suggested a conversation about the Celtics. “One of the big reasons why I chose the Celtics is he,” Schröder told The Athletic about the 35-year-old veteran.
Dennis Schröder is fully motivated
On his YouTube channel, since arriving in Boston, Schröder has been making every effort not only to give his fans a look behind the scenes and into family life with the two children and his wife, but also to convey the pleasure he feels before the start of the season . “Dennis is fully motivated,” reports Ellen Schröder during a visit to the TD Garden, the home ground of the Celtics.
And who knows, maybe it will work out so well with the new coach Ime Udoka and alongside Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown that Schröder will also get the jersey with the number 71 – his 17 are no longer given by the Celtics attracts a second season and earns more money than this season.
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