Schroder continues offseason makeover

Dennis Schroder just flexed.

How else would one expect the young Hawks guard to answer a question about eight pounds of muscle he’s added in the offseason? The 20-year-old smiled broadly as he showed off the new brawn.

“I’m working on it,” Schroder said.

The point guard had two main objectives following his rookie season. He needed to get stronger and improve his outside shot. Schroder has shown off his improvements in both areas during the Las Vegas Summer League this week.

Schroder, has added to the 6-foot-1, 168-pound frame he entered the NBA with as a first-round draft pick last season.

“His body has gotten stronger,” Hawks general manager Danny Ferry said. “He needs to continue to do that. He has probably gained eight or nine pounds of strength physically. In our game, he is playing against men and he is going to have to be able to handle contact — taking it, making it and using it. I think he is making progress in that regard.”

Schroder, 20, showed improvement in his outside shot during a 30-point performance Sunday in a summer league game against the D-League select team, going 9-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds and four assists but had eight turnovers in 36 minutes of the loss. It was a better performance than the tournament opening loss to the Wizards in which Schroder had eight points on 2-of 13 shooting, including 0-of-2 from 3-point range. He had two assists, two rebounds and two turnovers.

“I’m working on it all summer,” Schroder said of his 3-point shot. “(Sunday) it worked out. I’ll keep shooting it.”

Schroder has spent his summer shuttling between his native Germany and Atlanta working on his game. His shooting coach went overseas and spent several weeks with him in Germany. The rest of the time, he has been working out in Atlanta.

Schroder averaged 3.7 points, 1.9 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 13.1 minutes in his 49 games with the Hawks last season. He had 61 turnovers and 93 assists for a ratio of 1.5, 134th in the NBA.

It was an up-and-down rookie season for the young guard. He started the season as the primary backup to Jeff Teague at the point but lost the job early in the season due to an abundance of turnovers. He played five seconds in a Dec. 26 game against the Cavaliers before he was pulled for entering while still wearing his practice shorts. He was sent to the NBA Development League for a six-game stint and averaged 17 points, 6.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds.

The Hawks see the potential. Schroder’s speed, which he uses both offensively and defensively, is an asset. The balance of the fast drive to the basket against knocking down an outside shot is the work in progress.