After finally trading Carmelo Anthony the OKC Thunder now have a backup point guard that will help them greatly in Dennis Schroder.
The Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to send Carmelo Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade that included the Philadelphia 76ers. In the deal, the OKC Thunder got Dennis Schroder from Atlanta and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from Philly.
Carmelo Anthony will be waived and will be able to sign with any team he pleases.
Luwawu-Cabarrot is a good player to develop down the road but the prize in this deal is Schroder. He adds production to a dismal bench last year that was dying for offense. The Thunder were ranked 29th in bench scoring last year.
What makes this trade a good one is the fact that the Thunder needed a fast backup point guard that can hit the driving lanes hard and distribute the ball to shooters.
A bench player like Alex Abrines will be one of those 3-point marksmen.
Sources: Muscala ($5M) is likely headed for a third team in near future. OKC GM Sam Presti and coach Billy Donovan were given permission to talk with Schroder, and they're enthusiastic about partnership. OKC wants more speed, another ball handler. https://t.co/VibPPXzlBW
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 19, 2018
Terrance Ferguson can benefit from having Schroder on the team too, because having a faster point guard will make it easier for him to get the rock when he is playing off ball as decisions are made more quickly.
Schroder was 16th in the league in assists per game last year. He is a decent scorer too, especially in a bench role. He led the Hawks in scoring last season and will be a really good spark off the bench for the Thunder. He will fit the role Reggie Jackson played so well for the team years ago.
Schroder’s 19.4 points per game were good for 25th in scoring last year. In fact, that is better than Carmelo Anthony, who was 43rd in scoring with 16.2 points per game.
The only problem with Schroder is his defensive capability. He boosted his steals stats to a career high 1.1 steals per game last season, but ranked 158th in defensive rating.
The Thunder have players on the bench that can help make up for this like Nerlens Noel, who will be able to guard the rim. He should be Schroder’s best friend on defense.
OKC’s bench is drastically better when you look at the type of players that were recently acquired. Noel is a defensive stud and his cutting and slashing ability fits into the system.
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Rookie Devon Hall is a good fit because of his 3-and-D ability. Out of all the draft picks that the Thunder selected, he will have the best chance to play as soon as possible because of his shooting, experience and defensive capability.
Luwawu-Cabarrot will help try to push Ferguson they are the same type of player — young, athletic wings that are developing a 3-point shot but struggle hitting it. If Ferguson doesn’t develop, Cabarrot is there to help the Thunder.
Dennis Schroder helps round out this whole group with his ability to find all these players, score and most importantly, play fast.
Schroder will have to limit the turnovers though. The Thunder will have to do that by acquiring another player for the bench that can score off the dribble. That will negate Schroder being forced to make decisions every time down the court.
The Thunder have the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception ($5.3 million) that they can still use. That can be used to sign a player like Jamal Crawford, Dwyane Wade or Michael Beasley — all veterans who still have something to give.
With youngsters already on the team like Ferguson and Abrines who will have to develop into more productive role players, the Thunder finally have something to work with in terms of the reserves. The bench is now young and talented. Most importantly, they are able to produce also.
Dennis Schroder will be able to help change the Thunder’s fortunes this season by being a “baby Russell Westbrook” for the bench with his ability to play fast and intensely.
When Kevin Durant left, Westbrook finally was able to be the unquestioned leader of the team. With that being said, the past two years Westbrook was one of the top players in usage rate. He broke the record for usage rate in 2016-17. Schroder was 15th last season in usage rate with 30.5.
He is used to having the ball in his hands, so head coach Billy Donovan will not lose a step with Westbrook out of the game.
The Thunder coaching staff was able to talk to Schroder and Schroder wants to be there so him and the coaching staff are already on the same page. They will and probably already have found a way to make this work.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlbeGyQFdDn/?hl=en&taken-by=ds17_fg
As for his non shooting ability Schroder’s ability to pass is what the Thunder will like because he can get the ball to shooters.
Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
Overall the Thunder got a good return in Dennis Schroder for Carmelo Anthony.