The Sacramento Kings are not having the season they hoped for when they began the year, and Dennis Schroder is a major reason why. Could the veteran point guard be traded away before he plays another game?
This summer the Kings decided on a singular vision: get a veteran point guard. Such a player would unlock their collection of shooting guards and wings; with a caretaker at the point, suddenly Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan and Keegan Murray and Malik Monk would all fit perfectly together.
To accomplish that goal while also avoiding the luxury tax, the Kings were forced to salary dump competent center Jonas Valanciunas on the contending Denver Nuggets, taking back unplayable "stretch big" Dario Saric. Then they were clear to sign Dennis Schroder, a journeyman point guard who had a decent enough end to last season in Detroit -- but who the Pistons were fine letting walk in free agency.
Schroder has been terrible, which might not be a strong enough description. He is shooting 39.9 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from deep. He is a turnstile on defense and his shot volume is dragging down the offense, making him the rare player to be actively harmful on both ends of the court. ESPN's Net Points metric concludes that he has cost the Kings 3.2 points per 100 possessions vs an average player, eighth-worst in the NBA.
Russell Westbrook was signed off the street just prior to the season and has elevated into the starting lineup. He hasn't been all that much better than Schroder, but he has plenty of hustle and is getting more minutes. If Westbrook at this point in his career is the answer, the problem is catastrophic.
The Kings want to trade Dennis Schroder
That seems likely to lead to a trade for the Kings, if they can find a suitor. That is likely true for their entire roster, but getting Schroder out of Sacramento is likely priority number one. The signing has not worked out, and the Kings could desperately use Jonas Valanciunas this year. Instead, they have the corpse of Dario Saric and the Mr. Hyde version of Dennis Schroder.
What is more, if the Kings do want to trade Schroder quickly, the window of opportunity just opened. Starting December 15th, players who signed with a new team inf ree agency are eligible to be traded -- players like Schroder. It is the unofficial start to NBA trade season.
What is more, the NBA has introduced a new rule that if you trade for a player by December 16th, you can turn around and trade them again as part of a larger deal at the NBA Trade Deadline. This is a rule that Schroder himself knows very well. Last season, the Golden State Warriors traded for him right at that December 15th mark, then turned around and included him in the Jimmy Butler deal when things were not working out in Golden State.
As teams are looking for point guard depth, perhaps one can be incentivized to take a flier on Dennis Schroder. Perhaps another deal getting done allows the Kings to sneak in and offload their failed point guard. In the process, the team acquiring Schroder can turn around and package his salary for another player at the Trade Deadline.
Will someone trade for Schroder? It's a hard point to sell. But if the right situation unfolds, the Kings could strike as early as today. And that means that Schroder's last game for the franchise has already happened, a 25-minute performance in a loss to Minnesota on Sunday where Schroder scored 17 points and was only a -5. That might go down as one of his best performances of the season.
Has Dennis Schroder already played his last game for the franchise? It certainly seems possible.