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Celtics' Updated Roster, Starting Lineup After Reported Dennis Schroder Contract
August 11, 2021
The Boston Celtics have used their $5.9 million taxpayer mid-level exception to sign former Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Schroder, who turns 28 years old on September 15, averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists in his lone season with the Lakers.
He spent his first four years with the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, with whom Schroder played an additional two seasons.
Now he'll join his fourth NBA team in the Celtics, who welcome him to a backcourt that needed reinforcements following the team's trade of point guard Kemba Walker.
As for whether Schroder starts, that appears up in the air. Keith Smith of Celtics Blog provided word on that front:
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBAPer a source: Dennis Schroder signed with Boston with no expectation of a starting role. Celtics made it clear that Ime Udoka will evaluate roles and minutes. Also, this will be Udoka's decision only. The front office, led by Brad Stevens, will not get involved in PT decisions.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart should be starting all year. The remaining guard spot appears to be a two-man competition between Schroder and Josh Richardson.
Robert Williams III could start at center with Al Horford backing him up, or vice versa.
Therefore, the starting lineup appears to be something like this:
Starting Lineup
G: Marcus Smart
G: Dennis Schroder (or Josh Richardson)
G/F: Jaylen Brown
F: Jayson Tatum
C: Al Horford (or Robert Williams III)
The remainder of the 15-man roster looks like it will be guards Payton Pritchard, Kris Dunn, Romeo Langford and Carsen Edwards; forwards Aaron Nesmith, Jabari Parker and Grant Williams and center Enes Kanter.
Bill Simmons of The Ringer appears to be a fan of the Celtics' 2021-22 roster:
The C's are looking to bounce back from a 36-36 season that ended with them losing in five games to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Boston shook up its front office in the offseason, promoting Brad Stevens from head coach to president of basketball operations and adding Ime Udoka, who played professional basketball from 2000 to 2012 and served as an assistant head coach from 2012 to 2021.
Stevens has significantly changed up last year's roster, adding Schroder, Richardson, Horford and Kanter to the mix. He'll hope that the new acquisitions help Boston re-stake its claim as one of the Eastern Conference's top contenders.