The Atlanta Hawks had hoped this offseason that they would have a chance at Chris Paul in free agency and while that did not happen, general manager Danny Ferry feels like the team has an equivalent now in rookie Dennis Dennis Schroder, who the team selected in the first round.
Schroder is from Germany and the team selected him with the number 17 pick after he played in the Beko League last season and Ferry signed him to a contract. The point guard has a ton of potential and one Boston Globe writer has already compared him to Rajon Rondo, writing that the two have a similar style of play and that the point guard could emulate him on the court. Gary Washburn went on to say that the two have a similar confidence when he plays and that his aggressive defense makes him a comparison to Rondo on the Celtics.
Last season Schröder averaged 11.9 points and 3.3 assists in 24.7 minutes for New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig and he could end up being the starting point guard for the Hawks depending on what happens over the summer. The team has Shelvin Mack and they are also going back and forth with Jeff Teague, as he received an offer from the Bucks for four-years and $32 million, but the team matched the offer.
The 19-year-old Schroeder was taken with the 17th pick and that came right after the team selected Brazilian center Lucas Nogueira and now the two international stars could be a foundation for the Hawks going forward. Schroder has already started to play in the summer league and he had a solid line of nine points on 4-for-12 shooting, 8 rebounds and 4 steals in Atlanta's 75-71 win over Miami.
The 6'1" point guard played professionally in Germany since 2009 and has more pro experience than most rookies and that should help him get acclimated to the league. Last season he shot 42.4% from the field, 40.2% from the 3-point arc and 83.8% from the free-throw line and if he keeps those numbers up, he should get some solid playing time. ESPN is reporting that the Hawks matched the four-year, $32 million offer from the Bucks for Teague, meaning that he should be around next season and will be one of the stars of the team after Josh Smith left. Teague scored 14.6 points and 7.2 assists last season and has increased his scoring in each of the last three years.
