The Golden State Warriors are set to make a big move in acquiring Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder once De'Anthony Melton becomes trade eligible on Sunday.
Trading for Schroder comes at an important time for the Warriors, having lost seven of their last nine games which has largely resulted from a stagnant offense that's ranked 28th in the league since November 23.
The Warriors are expected to surrender Reece Beekman in the trade for Dennis Schroder
Acquiring Schroder and his $13 million expiring contract began to make perfect sense shortly after De'Anthony Melton went down with a season-ending ACL injury sufferered against the Dallas Mavericks last month.
Golden State are expected to give up Melton and three-second round picks in exchange for Schroder and one second-round pick, according to ESPN's Shams Charania on Saturday. On the surface that's extremely good value -- giving up essentially two second-round picks for an 18-point, six-assist per game player who shoots over 38% from three seems like a steal.
Clearly the Nets were incentivized to make a deal now that aids their tanking plans, rather than trying to hold out for a better deal which may also result in Schroder helping them winning more games in the lead up to the deadline (which they don't want).
However, the Warriors will reportedly be giving up another player beyond Melton. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, Golden State also likely to surrender two-way contracted guard Reece Beekman to Brooklyn in the trade.
If that is the case, it's a minor but still noteworthy element to the deal. Beekman was clearly never going to be a stumbling block between the Warriors landing Schroder or not, yet he's nonetheless shown some impressive signs to start the G League season with Santa Cruz.
After going undrafted in June's NBA Draft, the 23-year-old signed a two-way deal with Golden State only to be limited to two games during Summer League because of injury. He appeared in all six of the Warriors preseason games, but only for garbage time minutes where he averaged 1.8 points and 1.2 assists.
Beekman has shone in Santa Cruz through nine games, averaging 18.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 2.8 steals while shooting 51.5% from the floor and 34.5% from 3-point range.
While most Warrior fans won't lose sleep at potentially losing someone who's played a total of four NBA minutes, it will still be interesting to see if Beekman can develop into a bonafide NBA player if he is indeed headed to Brooklyn.