NBA Rumors: Dennis Schroder Generating 'Rising Buzz' at EuroBasket amid Mavs Interest
September 14, 2022
Free-agent NBA guard Dennis Schroder is reportedly turning heads and helping his chances of landing another contract thanks to his performance at the EuroBasket tournament.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Schroder is generating "rising buzz" with his play for Germany, and the expectation is that he will "almost certainly" be with a new NBA team by the end of September.
One team believed to have interest in Schroder is the Dallas Mavericks, with Stein reporting last week that Mavs executives Nico Harrison and Michael Finley had been scouting Schroder and were considering the possibility of signing him.
In six games for Germany at EuroBasket 2022, Schroder is averaging 20.2 points, 7.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds, making him one of the most productive players in the tournament.
Schroder has also helped lead Germany to the semifinals, where it will face Spain. Along the way, Schroder and Co. have beaten France, Lithuania and Greece, among others.
Since getting selected 17th overall in the 2013 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Schroder has spent nine seasons in the league, playing for the Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.
Schroder, who turns 29 on Thursday, has largely been a productive player during his NBA career as well, averaging 14.2 points, 4.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 621 regular-season games.
His numbers have been down over the past couple of seasons after averaging a career-high 19.4 points per game with the Hawks in 2017-18 and 18.9 points per game with the Thunder in 2019-20.
Schroder spent last season split between the Celtics and Rockets, averaging 13.5 points, 4.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Dallas would perhaps be the best possible landing spot for Schroder since the Mavericks are still in search of someone to replace Jalen Brunson.
Brunson was the Mavericks' second-best player last season behind Luka Doncic, and when the MVP candidate missed several games during the playoffs, Brunson kept the team afloat.
The New York Knicks signed Brunson in free agency, leaving the Mavs without a player who can spell and play alongside Doncic (whose Slovenia team plays in the EuroBasket semifinals Wednesday) when needed.
Spencer Dinwiddie is the top internal candidate to take on that role, but Schroder's experience as both a starter and a bench player, plus his explosive offensive ability, makes him arguably the closest comparison to Brunson of any player currently available.
Playing a key role for a team that reached the Western Conference Finals last season would be a huge win for Schroder, considering it wasn't long ago that his NBA future was in doubt.