With only a week left until the effective March 1 deadline for contract buyouts, neither the Houston Rockets nor Dennis Schroder is in favor of such a move, according to veteran NBA scribe Marc Stein.
Any player who is currently with an NBA team must be released by March 1 in order to be eligible for the playoffs with a subsequent team. Thus, that date acts as an effective deadline for any buyout negotiations.
When the Rockets traded for Schroder at the Feb. 10 trade deadline, many initially assumed the move was simply to shed the salary of veteran center Daniel Theis. The Rockets (15-43) currently have the worst record in the Western Conference and are in the middle of a rebuilding movement, and the 28-year-old Schroder is in the prime of his career.
Moreover, because he is currently on a one-year contract, the Rockets will not have Bird rights to potentially help with re-signing Schroder this offseason — even if they do see a long-term role for him.
Nonetheless, in the short-term, the Rockets clearly see value in having Schroder as a stabilizing presence in their backcourt to assist with the development of young prospects like rookies Jalen Green, Josh Christopher, and Alperen Sengun. Moreover, even without Bird rights, it could be feasible for the Rockets to potentially re-sign Schroder at the allowed rate of 120% relative to his current $5.9-million salary.
Dennis Schroder is on course to finish the season in Houston, league sources say.
Neither the Rockets nor Schroder favor a buyout, sources say, with a March 1 deadline looming for any buyout candidate leaguewide to be released to ensure playoff eligibility with his next team.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 22, 2022
None of those short-term or longer-term scenarios are realistic without buy-in from Schroder himself. But according to Stein, he and the Rockets are currently on the same page, and that will presumably result in the experiment continuing for at least the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
In three games with the Rockets, Schroder is currently averaging 12.0 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in 29.0 minutes.
