Dennis Schröder Explains Why He Left $78M On The Table To Sign With Celtics

People have been clowning new Celtics guard Dennis Schröder all offseason long. 

After the German point guard reportedly turned down a 4-year/$84M contract from the Lakers at the end of the 2020/2021 season, it became increasingly clear that he was not going to make that kind of money anywhere else. And months after initially turning down the deal, Schröder settled for a one-year/$5.9M deal with the Boston Celtics. 

At first glance, turning down $84M for $5.9M seems like the most outlandish decision anybody could make, but in his first time sitting down with the Celtics media, Schröder explained his decision, saying "money is not everything at all times." 

"At the end of the day, I feel like for me, personally, I got to be comfortable in the environment I’m in," Schröder told Tom Westerholm of Boston.com, before addressing his one year in LA. "I love the Lakers organization and they did great things, but I think for me, and this is just business, I don’t think I fit in 100 percent. You play with LeBron and AD, that’s two of the best players in the NBA, and I don’t think I gave them everything that I bring to the table."

Schröder is right. 

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are two of the best players in the league and, coming off their championship run in the 2020 bubble, it was clear that, for whatever reason, Schröder struggled to mesh with the two superstars on the court. Averaging 15.4 points per game in '20/'21, Schröder dropped nearly four points from his '19/'20 mark of 18.9 and, despite increases in both assists and steals, Schröder simply didn't fit. 

Explaining that he signed a nice contract after his fourth season in the league (bumping up from $2.7M/year to $15M/year) the new Celtic ensured that he was good financially and made this decision purely based on basketball. 

Noting that former Hawks teammate and current Celtic Al Horford, along with new head coach Ime Udoka, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and budding All-Stars Jayston Tatum and Jaylen Brown all reached out before he signed, Schröder said he intends to play in Boston for a while. 

"I think Boston was just the right fit and the right mentality, how the organization works, the system, it’s a winning mentality that was just for me the right move to make ... I hope that this is going to be for a long time." 

What did you think of Schröder leaving that kind of money on the table? How do you think he will fare with the Celtics this season? Let us know in the comments. 

[Via]