The Golden State Warriors have made the first real notable deal of the NBA season, with the franchise set to acquire veteran guard Dennis Schroder from the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
De'Anthony Melton's season-ending injury always made him a trade candidate once eligible on December 15, and the Warriors have wasted no time in targeting and executing a deal that returns a player making essentially the same money.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Golden State will send Melton's $12.8 million expiring contract and three second-round picks to Brooklyn for Schroder and one second-round pick. The 31-year-old is on a $13 million expiring deal, but the Warriors will inherit bird rights which will improve their chances of re-signing Schroder in free agency should they wish.
The Warriors have maintained full flexibility with this trade
There's very little downside to this move for Golden State -- giving up essentially two second-round picks for a veteran performer putting up over 18 points and six assists per game is great value. Truth be told it's a steal for the Warriors and one that's only came about because of the Nets incentive to tank rather than continue with a productive NBA player that was helping them win games.
Is adding Schroder the move that catapults the Warriors to the top echelon of teams in the league though? Unlikely. The German guard will be helpful and will make the team better, particularly when it comes to their offensive woes that's seen them rank 28th on that end over the last nine games.
However, Schroder won't be the franchise-defining move that takes them over the top. You don't expect that to be the case when you've given up two seconds. One of the potential downsides to trading for Schroder was the fact you were giving up Melton's salary at a point where you could've waited to see if a bigger piece became available a few weeks down the track.
Yet that potential downside has been eliminated too, with ESPN's Bobby Marks confirming that Schroder (and Melton for that matter) can be aggregated with other players to be traded again prior to the February 6 deadline.
That's a small but incredibly important detail. What if Golden State convince LeBron James to request a trade to the Bay before the deadline? Then all of a sudden Schroder's $13 million contract becomes a potentially important tool in matching salaries to make that happen.
It's unlikely that the Warriors will acquire Schroder on Sunday just to turn around and trade him less than two months later, but the fact they have the ability to be able to do that is a crucial element that retains full flexibility for the front office.