NBA Rumors: Dennis Schroder Getting $70 Million From Atlanta Hawks

Millions of dollars are being thrown around by NBA teams. Dennis Schroder is receiving a four-year contract worth approximately $70 million from the Atlanta Hawks, as reported by ESPN. The franchise is putting faith in the young guard and believes that he can be one of the key building blocks for years to come.

There are talks that only $62 million of the deal is guaranteed, which still makes it a tremendous pact for Dennis Schroder. He has spent his career as a bench player, so being handed this amount of money before establishing himself as a starter is a really big deal.

Only two other players from the 2013 NBA Draft class have been signed to extensions. CJ McCollum received his deal from the Portland Trail Blazers after proving that he is a great sidekick for Damian Lillard. Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to be the franchise player for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Dennis Schröder and Dwight Howard made this alley-oop look too easy https://t.co/R2aM84xxjT

— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) October 21, 2016

The trio of Dennis Schroder, CJ McCollum, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is from the same draft class that was led by Anthony Bennett, the first overall selection that year. Bennett has been bouncing around the NBA, and it appears that he might have problems staying with the league unless he turns things around within the next couple of years.

For the past couple of years, the Atlanta Hawks knew that they had a tough decision to make in regards to their point guard position. Jeff Teague was more than solid and one of the better perimeter players in the NBA, but management knew that Dennis Schroder was not going to be content as a backup forever.

Their decision became evident when Jeff Teague was traded away to the Indiana Pacers, a team that wanted an upgrade over George Hill. By sending Teague away, the Atlanta Hawks let the NBA know that Dennis Schroder was going to be the guy running their offense.

As a backup, there were moments where Dennis Schroder fell in love with his outside shot, which was not the most accurate. As a starter, he is going to need to figure out that he is much more of a weapon when he is driving to the basket and finding open teammates.

With the new contract comes higher expectations for Dennis Schroder. Atlanta Hawks fans are going to expect him to not just match the production that Jeff Teague provided, but they want to see him doing even more than that.

Over the summer, the Atlanta Hawks lost Al Horford, who many considered to be the face of the franchise over the past couple of seasons. Horford decided that he had a better chance of winning an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics, so he left via free agency.

Fortunately for the Atlanta Hawks, they were able to sign Dwight Howard in free agency. The former All-Star center decided that he needed a change of scenery after things with the Houston Rockets failed to pan out. Howard was initially supposed to team with Al Horford, but now he’s replacing the former Florida Gators’ star instead.

Another underlying pressure on Dennis Schroder as the new point guard for the Atlanta Hawks is that he needs to prove that he is good enough to convince Paul Millsap that the team has a bright future. Millsap becomes a free agent next summer, so a big decision will be looming.

Dennis Schroder wanted the starting point guard position for the Atlanta Hawks. He also wanted to be paid. Now, the mercurial point guard has both of those wishes. Those in the NBA now want to see if he can come through on his end.

[Featured Image by Kevin C Cox/Getty Images]