The Golden State Warriors are in advanced conversations with the Brooklyn Nets to acquire guard Dennis Schröder, according to league sources, delivering them the extra scoring punch they’ve glaringly lacked during a recent 2-7 slump.
The deal can’t be completed until Sunday because the Warriors are sending back De’Anthony Melton’s $12.8 million expiring contract. Melton isn’t trade eligible until Sunday because he signed his deal this past summer. But the trade is essentially finalized, league sources confirmed, as the sides are only firming up the exact draft compensation changing hands.
ESPN was the first to report the impending move.
To get Schröder, the Warriors will be attaching three second-round picks to Melton’s contract and receiving a second-round pick in return, league sources said, a reasonable price tag for a veteran guard averaging 18.4 points and making 38.7 percent of his 6.5 3s per game. Melton was terrific in his six games with the Warriors, but he tore his ACL and is out for the season.
The Warriors and Nets have been in sporadic trade talks for weeks and lined up as sensible trade partners. The Warriors are in win-now mode with a fuller draft cupboard than many of their competitors, while the Nets are in the early stages of an elongated rebuild.
The sides also discussed Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith in larger structures of a possible trade, but the Warriors preferred to maintain their young talent and keep this initial trade a simple swap that filled a need. Schröder is on a $13 million expiring deal that keeps the Warriors slightly below the first apron, where they are hard-capped.
Schröder is expected to step into a large role in the Warriors’ backcourt. He’s an extra scorer and pick-and-roll ballhandler who should be able to run some offense while Steph Curry is off the court, yet also fit next to Curry in certain lineups, the Warriors believe, because of his pesky defense. Schröder’s arrival will likely lessen the minute totals for Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield, among others.
The Schröder move doesn’t preclude the Warriors from taking a larger trade swing as the February deadline gets closer. His $13 million salary can be aggregated in another deal, if needed, and their ability to acquire Schröder without giving up a future first rounder keeps their asset chest robust.
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