Dennis Schroder and the Atlanta Hawks agreed to a 4-year deal worth $70 million. The contract will take effect in the 2017-18 NBA season.
The deal was officially announced by President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Mike Budenholzer. "Over the past three years, we have watched Dennis grow into an elite competitor and an emerging, two-way player," said Budenholzer.
Shortly after the announcement, Schroder posted a photo of him signing his contract on his personal Twitter account and expressed his gratitude to have the chance to play for the Hawks organization and called Atlanta his home.
During the offseason, the Hawks dealt Jeff Teague to the Indiana Pacers. Before Schroder's extension, it was unclear if the Hawks were going to commit to Schroder as their point guard for the years to come.
In his three years with Atlanta, Schroder has played back-up to Teague. Every year the 23-year German's minutes and production increase. Last season he played 80 games and averaged 11 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 20.3 minutes of action per game, all career highs.
Now that he is given the keys to run the team, he has to step up his game and develop as a starter-caliber point guard. Aside from Teague, Horford is also not with the team anymore and is replaced by Atlanta native Dwight Howard.
With Howard manning the middle, Schroder has to develop his outside game to create more spacing for the Hawks. Unlike Horford, Howard doesn't have a mid-range game. If Schroder is unable to hit outside shots on a consistent basis, opposing teams are going to sag off of him and make it more difficult for Howard to operate down low. The Hawks open their season on Thursday against the Washington Wizards at Phillips Arena.
