The Golden State Warriors are pursuing Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder through a trade, and according to Marc Stein, one source called a deal between the two sides “imminent.” A deal would include the expiring contract of De’Anthony Melton, who is out for the season due to an ACL injury. The Nets would get three second-round picks in the deal, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. But because Melton signed with Golden State as a free agent this offseason, a deal would not be legal until Sunday (Dec. 15). With that trade restriction soon lifting, it looks as if Golden State is closing in on a new backup point guard.
Schroder is having arguably his best NBA season as Brooklyn’s starting point guard. He became a Net at last year’s trade deadline, and this season, he’s averaging 18.4 points and 6.6 assists per game on 45.2% shooting from the floor and 38.7% from deep. The trouble for Brooklyn is that Schroder has almost been too good.
The Nets traded quite a bit of future draft capital from other teams in order to regain control of their own draft picks in 2025 and 2026. Doing so only made sense if those picks turned out to be high, but at 10-15, the Nets have outperformed expectations. Moving Schroder should only help their draft position.
Golden State is in a very different position. The Warriors are in win-now mode with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green still performing at something resembling their peak levels. Golden State’s primary weakness this season has been backup ball-handling. Brandin Podziemski hasn’t progressed as the team hoped, and there isn’t a traditional backup point guard to be found on this roster. Now, Schroder will fill that role for a Warriors team that started hot but has lost seven of its last nine games.
What’s interesting about this possible deal for Golden State is the opportunity cost of Schroder’s acquisition. He will obviously help the Warriors, but Melton’s contract would have been a very valuable chip to use in pursuit of a superstar. The Warriors tried to get both Paul George and Lauri Markkanen over the summer, and have been linked to Jimmy Butler and other stars during the season. Matching salary on players like that isn’t easy, and without Melton’s contract, it just got harder.
The Warriors are still likely open to a bigger trade, but seemingly decided that they couldn’t wait two more months to finish a deal. Schroder represents a real upgrade for them right now. If anything else comes later, well, that’s a bonus.
