Floor: 3 & ~D guy
Ceiling 3! & D guy
That seems about right and is not terrible.
In my lineup of Schroeder starting I’d have Pritchard as a reg on the backend of the second unit. If the rumors are true about Smart starting with Schroeder off the bench (which makes zero sense on so many levels I could write 5k words on it….but I digress) then Pritchard will likely be the odd man out of the rotation.
I actually think Schroeder off the bench makes perfect sense.
1. He's here for one year to set himself up for a long-term deal that the Celtics cannot give him because of the salary cap rules (no Bird rights).
2. If he has a good year he will have real value at the deadline, because there will be some team out there that needs a PG and he my be the best available. The Celtics will have a strong incentive to trade him since he's gone after the season anyway.
3. He's at his best as high usage guy. In 5 seasons with usage at or above 27, his OBPM was 1.2, -0.3, 1.1, 1.1, -0.1. In 2 seasons with usage below 25, his OBPMs were much worse: -1.1, -1.3 (we'll ignore his horrific rookie year).
4. The highest usage Celtics are and should be Tatum and Brown, not Schroder. You don't want Schroder burning possessions that they could use. While playing with them, he needs to be more of a pass first complementary player, which is not his strength - and likely not what he wants to be doing, given that he is playing for a contract or trade.
5. On the other hand, he's the obvious guy to run the bench unit. He thrives in a high usage role, and with especially Tatum on the bench the Celtics need someone to use possessions. He runs a shit ton of pick and roll, and the Celtics have 3 centers who can do that (Williams and Kanter to roll and Horford for a five-out pick and pop look), so Schroder can work with whichever center is out with the bench unit.
People who think Smart shoots too much are not going to be happy to see Schroder taking possessions away from Tatum. Smart's career usage rate is 17.5%, Schroder's is 26.5%. Smart's career shots per 36 is 11 (6 threes), Schroder's is 17 (5 threes). Schroder is a slightly better 3 point shooter (career .337 vs Smart's .320; past 3 years .355 vs Smart's .348).
The way you keep Schroder happy and willing to play third-fiddle when he shares the floor with Tatum and Brown is to let him run the bench unit and really turn him loose in those bench minutes. So he fits best as a 6th man on this team.