Schroder's New Stage: Hawks' young point guard steps into spotlight

ATLANTA — There stood a disguised Dennis Schroder a couple hundred kilometers east of his hometown, fake afro, goggles and long-sleeve compression shirt unable to hide his recognizable wiry frame as he stalked Berlin’s Washingtonplatz back in July. The get-up, assembled for a local 3-on-3 tournament, amounted to a goofy “Uncle Drew” parody at best.

Germany’s best basketball export in a generation can no longer hide in plain sight.

Those days are over.

Schroder has never been able to mask his ambition. He’s never tried to. He has carried himself as if he belonged in the world’s top league from the start, even as he shuttled between the Atlanta Hawks bench and the D-League as a 20-year-old bundle of lightning and bravado. After two years of apprenticeship behind starter Jeff Teague, he made it clear he was chasing his predecessor’s spot. This past May, in the afterglow of an erratic third season, he repeated his intentions with absolute clarity: "In the future, I want to be a starting point guard. Everybody knows it." That time is now.

If the franchise harbored any reservations in trading Jeff Teague, a 2015 All-Star who helped Atlanta reach the postseason in each of his seven seasons, the trepidation was warranted. Schroder’s effectiveness declined in Year 3, his age-22 season, regressing in player efficiency rating, win shares and true shooting percentage. There were moments, notably three 20-point games in the playoffs, but his on-court progress stagnated. Still, his scouting narrative has always been tethered to untapped potential and whether the flashes could become the 82-game norm. How consistently can lightning strike? This question makes him the most intriguing piece to the Hawks’ puzzle, even more than newcomer Dwight Howard, a well-known commodity in NBA circles. Schroder offers volatility by the gallon.

“Everybody told me just to be patient. Same with Al Horford, he told me every time, ‘Just be patient.’ I’ve been waiting three years now,” said Schroder, who averaged 11 points and 4.4 assists per game as one of Mike Budenholzer’s top bench options last season. “So finally I got the chance to prove myself and show the organization and show the team and my teammates that I’m ready for it.”

Teague’s imminent departure was the organization’s worst-kept secret entering the offseason, particularly as the veteran watched the final 17 minutes of a tightly contested playoff elimination game against the Cleveland Cavaliers from Philips Arena's home bench. The Hawks faced a dilemma: With Teague entering his contract year, they either needed to financially commit to him past his age-29 season — and likely move Schroder down the road — or find value before he walked. The value arrived courtesy of the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz in the form of the 12th overall pick, which turned into rookie wing Taurean Prince out of Baylor.

The story unfolded as expected, and yet there was Schroder at Media Day saying, “I still can’t believe it.”

It is telling that Budenholzer’s offseason conversations with Schroder, according to the pupil himself, centered around leadership. Statistical improvement alone will not keep the Hawks in the Eastern Conference’s upper echelon. Schroder’s responsibilities extend beyond improving his outside shooting (32.4 percent for his career) and finishing at the rim — his two offseason priorities — and into the realm of chemistry and rhythm.

He’s no longer just a spark plug. Atlanta needs him to be the glue as well.

“When you’re the starting point guard, you’ve gotta have a feel for the team, too,” veteran backcourt mate Kyle Korver said. “You’ve gotta connect with guys; you’ve gotta be able to talk to guys. There’s a lot of responsibility besides just like calling the play and passing the ball from A to B. Being a point guard is a feel. You’ve got to be very aware of what’s going on around you.”

Hawks veterans use terms like growth and evolution in describing their new starting point guard, often accompanied by a knowing grin. Schroder is still Schroder, the precocious speedster whose off-court persona spans two continents as a social media heavyweight, fashion icon, skateboarder, lounge proprietor, chewing gum mogul, teacher’s pet and enthusiast of all things golden. There has, of course, always been more to Schroder’s story than meets the public eye — he boasted uncommon maturity and focus entering the league as a teenager after playing two professional seasons and losing his father in 2011; as he resolutely stated before becoming a first-round pick, “I promised my dad that one day I would reach the NBA.” He kept his promise. — but much has changed.

The list of differences between the 19-year-old drawing Rajon Rondo comparisons at the 2013 Summer League and the new conductor of “Bud Movement” is a long one.

“When he first came in, he was a kid. And he’s still a kid, but he was a kid,” three-time All-Star Paul Millsap laughed. “And to see him now he’s really grown up. He’s grown up fast. He’s like a little brother to me, so to see my little brother take those steps to become a starting point guard in this league and to have the growth and success that he’s had over the course of the years, I’m proud of him for that.”

Added Korver: “It’s hard when you’re a young guy and you come to the NBA and there’s all the personalities and all the expectation and pressure and things that locker rooms deal with. And you’re trying to find yourself as a man and as that basketball player and all those things. It takes time.

“I think Dennis has come a long ways and we’re excited to see where this progression continues to lead, because he can keep on going.”

Budenholzer & Co. are not exactly sitting on a contingency plan if the Schroder Experiment goes south. With Teague out of the picture, the franchise acquired veteran Jarrett Jack, entering his 12th NBA season coming off a torn ACL, and rookie Malcolm Delaney, a 27-year-old jumpstarting his NBA career after playing for five years overseas. It appears Schroder is firmly planted in the driver’s seat, for better or for worse.

Jack surveyed the rugged landscape ahead. Schroder is stepping into perhaps the league’s most loaded position, a collection boasting the likes of two-time defending MVP Steph Curry, 2017 MVP favorite Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, John Wall … on a near-nightly basis, Schroder will face off against a more proven commodity. It presents an entirely new challenge.

“Him coming off the bench, probably being one of the better backup point guards in the league, he probably had a favorable matchup every single night,” Jack said. “Playing against these top-tier guys, it’s a grind every night. We already know the caliber of point guards that are in this league, so (it’s about) just understanding the preparation necessary to go up against those guys and be ready to compete.”

Schroder has, understandably, been knocking on the starting lineup’s door for more than a year. He wanted this challenge, publicly clamored for it. He’s now set to take center stage as one of the East’s most intriguing variables — a player handed the keys to a reliable car and asked to drive it to its 10th consecutive playoff run.

"It's amazing that the organization trusts me like that and hands me the keys to the team. It's, like, just amazing," Schroder said. "Now, the whole summer I was just working on my stuff, trying to show the organization that I'm ready for this situation."