2. Dennis Schroder, Oklahoma City Thunder
This summer, the Oklahoma City Thunder re-signed Paul George to lock in their Big 3 for the foreseeable future, moved Carmelo Anthony to get rid of an albatross contract and poor fit on both ends of the floor, and brought in Dennis Schroder to provide a much-needed upgrade at the backup point guard spot.
Schroder won’t post the 19.4 points, 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game he averaged last year as the starter for a tanking Atlanta Hawks squad, but he has the chance to be a game-changer off the bench, particularly in the pick-and-roll where he thrived last year.
Russell Westbrook might not miss any time with his knee surgery, but even if he does, Schroder will be ready to step in and boost his own averages — which is perfect, since Russ’ return would immediately relegate him back to the bench, thus preventing him from starting more games than he comes off the bench for.
Since there’s no question Schroder will be eligible for this award, he has to be considered one of the frontrunners. If he buys in to this sixth man role, he could form a terrific tandem with rim-runner Nerlens Noel, and Billy Donovan could even stagger his minutes so he plays with the starters with Westbrook needs a break.
He’s not a great 3-point shooter or defender, but he should play enough minutes to post the kind of inefficient, high-volume scoring numbers the Sixth Man of the Year award is most known for.