NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz Surrounding Dennis Schroder and Toney Douglas
So, the NBA is back (woo!) and the focus is predominantly on basketball.
The grapevine is far from juicy, but it’s not bare by any means.
Let’s take a slight detour from talking about the superstars and shed some light on two rumors currently floating around the league.
Schroder Stomping His Feet?
Atlanta Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder has really turned into a bit of a wild-card asset for the Eastern Conference’s reigning regular-season top dog.
Last year, the 22-year-old from Germany averaged 10 points and 4.1 assists in relief of All-Star Jeff Teague.
It seems he has bigger things in mind in Year 3 of his young career.
In an interview with German website Sport1 (h/t Sportnando's Emiliano Carchia), Schroder said that he will seek other opportunities if he can’t earning a starting spot in Atlanta:
"My goal is to start as point guard. If this doesn’t happen, I will look for other opportunities. The Hawks are a great team, the city is nice and everything is perfect now. Teague? He was an All-Star and he helped me a lot. I must be patient and work hard and eventually I’ll have my opportunities.
"
Aside from “you’re playing LeBron James tonight,” this is probably the last thing the Hawks want to hear. After all, the team picked up his option for 2016-17, so a trade is Schroder's only way out.
Teague is their guy. He’s quick as a cat, super athletic for his size (6’2"), reliable and consistent. He’s strong on both ends of the floor and has proved to be capable of truly leading an elite team.
Schroder is no scrub, though. In his second professional season, the shifty guard put up some respectable numbers and frequently provided a jolt to the offense, especially down the stretch. The lanky ball-handler averaged 13.9 points and six assists in March and 12.8 points and three dimes in April.
He’s craftier than a kindergarten art class and is extremely tough for opponents to defend. Schroder plays in a way that’s slippery—his unconventional movements provide all kinds of headaches for other teams.
Don't believe it? Observe:
The German Rondo is going to get his minutes regardless, though the Hawks can’t start him in place of Teague. They just can’t.
But what about a dual-PG lineup?
“I love to play with Jeff,” Schroder said at Atlanta’s media day. “It’s really hard to stop us two. I look forward to playing with him, and I hope coach [Mike Budenholzer] will give us the trust and let us play the 1 and 2.”
Such a backcourt will relegate Kent Bazemore to the bench—which might not be the worst thing in the world.
The high-flying 26-year-old has the potential to put someone on a poster every night, but he went scoreless in Atlanta's opener against the Detroit Pistons. In the team’s second game of the year, the Bazed God went for five points on 2-of-6 shooting against the New York Knicks.
Schroder, by contrast, went for 20 points and four dimes against Detroit and 13 points and two assists against the Knicks.
If he’s adamant about starting, Budenholzer could let Schroder play alongside Teague. Just not over him.
Toney Douglas to the Bayou
Ladies and gentlemen, forget LeBron James. This is the Return.
Just kidding—kind of.
Toney Douglas got himself a pair of 10-day deals with the New Orleans Pelicans last year, and then wound up getting signed for the remainder of the season in March.
He didn’t see a second of playoff action, but Douglas put up 4.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.8 boards in 14.8 minutes per night over 12 regular-season games.
Fast forward to the present, and Douglas is expected to return to the Pelicans after the team waived Nate Robinson after just two games, per Marc Stein of ESPN:
John Reid of NOLA.com talked to Pelicans guard Eric Gordon about the move:
Douglas signed with the Indiana Pacers over the summer and was released Monday, even after taking this phenomenal picture:
Now, the average fan looks at the move—Robinson for Douglas—and freaks out. "How could New Orleans do that?!" they ask.
When you let Stephen Curry drop a casual 40 points on opening night, that’s semi-understandable. It’s Steph Curry, after all.
But when C.J. McCollum puts up MVP numbers a night later, changes should be made. In 37 minutes, the 24-year-old out of Lehigh University went absolutely insane, eventually finishing with 37 points and six boards.
Just to be clear, C.J. McCollum did that.
Granted, the damage wasn't done on Robinson, but the Pels need someone to slow down the Currys and McCollums (please note the sarcasm) they'll encounter regularly in the West.
Douglas isn’t going to put fans in the seats with his offense, but the journeyman point guard can defend.
"I feel like I can guard anybody on the floor, that's my mentality," Douglas in 2013-14 during his time with the Miami Heat, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I show it in practice every day, make Mario [Chalmers] and them better. I put pressure on the ball...I did the same thing with Steph [Curry], pick up full court, make sure nothing is easy."
Jrue Holiday is one of the best defensive point guards in the game when healthy, but he’s constantly fighting off a swarm of injury bugs.
Newcomer Ish Smith has excelled offensively, which means that Douglas will head to NOLA for the same reason he’s still a pro—defense.
All stats are courtesy of Basketball Reference.
