In a recent interview with Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, two-time former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Dennis Schröder explains that he was advised by his representatives at the time (they've since been understandably let go) to turn down a rumored four-season, $84 million contract extension offer from LA in 2021.
He hit the open market, only to discover it was fairly barren. He pivoted, signing a one-year, $5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics. The 6'3" guard was flipped midseason to the Houston Rockets and Boston quickly turned its season around, eventually going all the way to the 2022 NBA Finals, where it would lose in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
"I would have signed it," Schröder told Fischer recently. "I would never just leave money on the table. My mom did't raise me that way."
After an uneven 2021-22, he signed a minimum deal to return to LA, where he quickly restored his free agent value as a critical piece of a Western Conference Finals-bound core, often finishing games ahead of D'Angelo Russell thanks to his better point-of-attack defense along the perimeter. He inked a two-year, $25.4 million contract to join the Toronto Raptors this summer, but has since been flipped to the Brooklyn Nets. The new money represents some improvement over his initial offer three seasons later, but he still missed out on some serious coin betting on himself that summer.
More must-reads: