This time last year, Dennis Schröder was still on the Nets, where he'd be for another month before the Golden State Warriors acquired him via trade. He wasn't in The Bay for long, ending the regular season with the Pistons. Schröder is now back in California, but in Sacramento, where he's off to a rocky start.
The Kings acquired Schröder over the summer via a sign-and-trade with the Pistons, signing him to a three-year, $45 million deal. Sacramento needed a point guard after trading De'Aaron Fox to San Antonio before the February deadline, and decided on Schröder, who has started in about half of the games he's played since he entered the league in 2013.
So far, as a full-time starter again in Sacramento, the 32-year-old is averaging 11.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 38.2% from the field and 30% from three in 30.2 minutes across 12 contests. In the Kings' second-to-last loss, Schröder had more turnovers (3) than he had points (0) in 21 minutes of action in a 122-108 loss to Denver.
Schröder proved at the end of last season that he can still be a productive player, but there are stretches where his shooting and playmaking look rough. Golden State saw that last season, which is why the Warriors had him come off the bench in January, and then traded him a few weeks later. Still, Sacramento decided to pay Schröder and give him the lead guard role.
Dennis Schröder and the Kings are struggling
Sacramento is off to a 3-9 start, 13th in the West. For whatever reason, the Kings thought they could contend in a stacked conference, but with every passing game, the chatter about Sacramento being a seller before the deadline grows louder.
Schröder's play isn't the only concern, but it surely doesn't look good that the Kings brought him in on a three-year deal. For what it's worth, Sacramento can't trade him until Dec. 15, and based on how he's played, the Kings wouldn't get anything of quality in return.
If only Sacramento had taken the time to truly think about how Schröder's time with the Warriors panned out. Of course, that was different, given Golden State traded for him to start alongside Steph Curry. They didn't fit together, and even when Curry was off the court, Schröder leading the offense didn't work.
The Kings only thought that they had started to climb themselves out of a hole over the summer (everyone thought otherwise). Now, they're realizing that all they were doing was digging themselves even deeper.