Atlanta Hawks is a team brimming with talent. Amongst their players, Dennis Schroder is their youngest and probably the one with the most potential. At 22 years old, there is a lot of space for the guard to grow.
However, he believes his space to grow is predicated on whether or not he starts. Schroder told the German magazine Bild that he'll probably walk away from the Hawks if he can't get the nod for the starting position.
"My goal is to start as point guard, if this doesn't happen I will look for other opportunities. The Hawks are a great team, the city is nice and everything is perfect now. Teague? He was an All-Star and he helped me a lot. I must be patient and work hard and eventually I'll have my opportunities."
His main competition for the starting position would be his teammate Jeff Teague, who has had the starting position locked for the past couple years. To the Hawks, Teague is their guy and chances are that won't change anytime soon.
The Schroder's situation is eerily similar to that of Reggie Jackson last year. If you recall, Jackson wanted more room to grow on the already contending Thunder team and was well aware of the fact that Russell Westbrook probably wasn't going anywhere soon. Eventually, Jackson was traded to Detroit where he now has a starting position in Stan Van Gundy's Pistons. Jackson re-signed with the Pistons this year on a 5-year, 80 million contract.
Schroder is probably well aware of the fact that Teague has probably locked down the starting job. However, this doesn't mean that Schroder necessarily has to walk away from the Hawks. One alternative the team should consider is allowing both players to start at the guard position. This would mean that their current starter, Kent Bazemore, would then have to come off the bench.
But when you have a young talent like Schroder who could compliment Teague well, is benching Bazemore really a loss?