Dennis Schroder emerged as one of the biggest losers of free agency this summer after he decided to sign a $5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics. That's still a lot of money, but unfortunately for the 27-year-old combo guard, this is merely a fraction of the Los Angeles Lakers' $84 million extension offer that he decided to turn down.

Portland Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum has weighed in on the issue. In his mind, McCollum believes that this Lakers debacle will only serve to motivate Schroder for the upcoming season with the Celtics:

“He’s in a situation where he’s playing on a one-year deal,” said McCollum on the latest episode of his Pull Up podcast, via Orel Dizon of Lakers Daily. “He’s got a lot to prove. Now, he’s probably angry. He’s probably a little frustrated at the situation, but also motivated.”

Schroder himself has already sounded off on his haters, and it is clear that the 6-foot-3 guard is going to be playing with a chip on his shoulder in 2021-22. If all goes according to plan, Schroder could prove to be an excellent investment for the Celtics.

McCollum then pointed out how Dennis Schroder will have “a lot at stake” this coming season. The new Celtics recruit is currently on a single-season deal with Boston, and he's definitely going to try to improve his market value ahead of next summer's free agency window.

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“I think one of the best things about sleights, or going through struggles, or potentially turning down money, similar to what John Collins did is that you come in motivated, and you also understand what’s at stake,” McCollum added. “If he did turn down that money, and he’s playing on a contract worth about $5.9 million, then he knows there’s a lot at stake for this season. I think his approach, his mindset and his mentality is gonna be different going into this year.”

It isn't likely that Dennis Schroder will earn the same amount of money he would have made if he had decided to put pen to paper on the Lakers' extension offer. However, he still has a lot of basketball ahead of him, and it will be interesting to see how he comes out at the start of the 2021-22 season with the Celtics.