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Atlanta Hawks: Dennis Schroder Is The Present And The Future

By Tyler Sellers

Feb 1, 2017; Miami, FL, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder (17) dribbles the ball up court against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Miami Heat won 116-93. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2017; Miami, FL, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder (17) dribbles the ball up court against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Miami Heat won 116-93. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 29, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder (17) drives to the basket around New York Knicks guard Brandon Jennings (3) during the second half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 29, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder (17) drives to the basket around New York Knicks guard Brandon Jennings (3) during the second half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /

Missing Their Floor General

The Hawks recent slump could be attributed to the recent suspension of starting point guard, Dennis Schroder. He missed the Heat game, because of an issue with his Visa upon returning from Europe over the All-Star break, that resulted in him returning to the team late, as reported by Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His replacement in the lineup promptly went out and shot 2-for-10 from the field.

I will go ahead and quickly say, Schroder is not on the list of my favorite Hawk players. That doesn’t change the fact that he is without question the key to any future success that the Hawks could have. Maybe Bazemore can moderately improve, Hardaway  could continue his breakout into an All-Star player, but it’s still all about Schroder.

For starters, Kent Bazemore is overpaid now, and that will continue for several more years. He is one of the Hawks’ best defenders and is a nice player to have on the roster.  Still, he is making over $15 million this season, and that escalates the next three years to total his $70 million deal. It’s a hefty price-tag for that level of production. Bazemore has been better in 2017, at least.

Atlanta’s front office will have to make a decision after the season on whether or not they want to re-sign Hardaway. If they do, they are likely going to end up overpaying for his services too. He has been awesome this year, and that’s why he’s going to get paid.

Then there is the prospective max level deal that Millsap will be in line for, and that nearly chews up all of the cap space the Hawks will have. More accurately said, if and when Millsap signs up for the $205 million, five-year deal that he is in line to get, they’ll have roughly  $10 million left over under the cap for potential free agents.

If the Hawks of the next couple of years look like the team we see today, then Dennis has to be the guy to lead them to contention. Ideally, Atlanta obtains and secures a star player during this time-frame. Could Prince or Bembry progress into that roll? If that’s what you’re counting on, then I don’t know what to tell you. It’s going to be tough.

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