LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — German point guard Dennis Schroder said Tuesday he is signing a one-year contract with the Boston Celtics, ending a one-year spell with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I’m proud to announce that for the 2021-22 season I’ll be playing with the Boston Celtics!” Schroder wrote on Instagram.
“This is one of the best franchises in NBA history and a honour to put on the green and white and do what I love! I’m going out there every night and leaving it all on the floor for the city!! Who’s ready?!”
ESPN reported Schroder’s free agent deal with the Celtics is for the $5.9 million mid-level exception, and it comes after he reportedly turned down a four-year, $84 million extension offer from the Lakers in March to see if he could do better as a free agent.
The 27-year-old arrived in Los Angeles in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder prior to last season.
He averaged 15.4 points per game for the Lakers in a season that saw him miss two weeks late in the campaign because of the league’s Covid-19 health and safety protocols.
The Lakers, who won the 2020 NBA title in the league’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, were eliminated in the first round of the 2021 playoffs by the Phoenix Suns.
In a bid to return to the summit they signed superstar guard Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards.
In Boston, Schroder will bolster a Celtics team that traded four-time All-Star point guard Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City.
© Agence France-Presse
