Dennis Schroder has played his final game with the Brooklyn Nets this season, but he doesn’t want it to be his last. The 30-year-old will miss the team’s final two contests due to right Achilles soreness, interim head coach Kevin Ollie announced Friday.
After joining the Nets at the deadline, the veteran exceeded expectations as the team’s starting point guard with Ben Simmons sidelined, averaging 14.6 points and 6.0 assists on 42/42/80 shooting splits over 29 appearances. With one year left on his contract, Schroder said he wants to remain in Brooklyn long-term.
“I always want to be stationed somewhere where people show me appreciation,” he told the New York Post’s Brian Lewis. “And I felt that from the first day. People reached out to my family, to my wife, to my mom. That shows, Ok, they really [want me]… I know the business side of it as well. So, I’m not taking anything emotional or personal. I know how it is.
“But at the end of the day, of course I want to stay here. I met [Nets owner] Joe [Tsai], his wife, his kid. And of course I want to build something special here. Everything they say, I’m preaching the same thing. And I’m the same player that they’re looking for, and it would be great to stay, for sure.”
With Simmons’ status for next season very much in question after undergoing his second back surgery in two years, Schroder will have an opportunity to remain the Nets’ lead guard. After replacing Jacque Vaughn as head coach midway through the season, Ollie offered high praise for the newly acquired floor general’s leadership.
“He was like a leader right when he got in. I think he brings a championship mentality, you know, going on a run with the Lakers last year and then doing what he did in the World Cup with Germany and winning gold,” interim head coach Kevin Ollie said. “He just has a natural ability to lead and to win. You know winners when you see them. They hold everybody accountable, but they make themselves full of accountability, too.”
“I think that’s what he did first and foremost. Just the way he communicates with me. He knows exactly what I want on a basketball court… Our relationship continues to grow. But I think his relationships with Mikal [Bridges] and Nic [Claxton] and talking to those guys and being a stand up guy, it’s not just good enough for us to just be around each other when we’re in our facilities. But the great teams and the championship teams I’ve been on, it’s been great off the court, too.”
After severely underwhelming during the first full season of the post-Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving era, the Nets have no intention to reset their timeline and enter a rebuild. Brooklyn has known aspirations to acquire a star to pair with Mikal Bridges. General Manager Sean Marks has seven tradable first-round picks at his disposal.
The competitive timetable opens the door for a trusted veteran like Schroder to remain with the team beyond next season. With Simmons’ contract expiring after 2024-25, Brooklyn could have upwards of $40 million in cap space when Schroder hits unrestricted free agency.
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