It's too early to say the Boston Celtics are going to be sellers at the trade deadline, but regardless of their standing, Dennis Schroder represents a valuable trade asset.
The veteran point guard is on a cheap, one-year deal with the Celtics this season and is positioned for a much bigger contract this offseason. It's unlikely that will come from Boston.
For that reason, rival executives believe the Celtics are expected to be amenable to moving Schroder, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Wrote Charania on Monday: "Rival teams expect the Celtics to be open to talks around guard Dennis Schröder, who inked a one-year deal with Boston in the offseason but has had a strong season that likely prices him out of a potential re-signing."
Schroder has been a productive player this season, appearing in 26 games, 17 in which he was a starter. He's averaging 17.5 points, 4.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per contest this season for a Celtics team that has yet to really find their footing.
Trading Schroder would increase the Celtics' reliance on Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard, which makes some sense given they have more clear futures with the organization.
It seems unlikely the Celtics could swing a Schroder trade that would make them anything but worse in the present, but keeping an asset like that in a season that sure seems to be going nowhere wouldn't be the wisest play from Brad Stevens.
