Warriors add backcourt scoring help with Dennis Schroder trade

The Warriors officially acquired Dennis Schroder in a low-risk package of second-rounders and salary filler, making the first splash as trade season hit its first checkpoint on Sunday morning.

The final details of the trade are as follows:

Warriors receive: Dennis Schroder, 2025 second-round pick (protected 31-37 via Miami)
Nets receive: De’Anthony Melton, Reece Beekman, 2026 and 2028 second-round picks via Atlanta, 2029 second-round pick

The deal, which was reported on Saturday, went through on Sunday as soon as Melton — and most of the league — became trade-eligible.

In acquiring Schroder, the Warriors address a need of a late-game decision-maker and multi-level scorer from the backcourt. Schroder, who’s averaging 18.4 points per game, instantly becomes the third-best penetrator off the dribble on the team, behind Steph Curry and Jonathan Kuminga.

This is the ninth time in Schroder’s 13-season career that the guard has changed teams. He’s played for the Lakers twice, Brooklyn, Boston, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Houston, Toronto and now Golden State.

A string of losses in which the Warriors’ offense stagnated in crunch time may have heightened their urgency to add another playmaker. Melton was that before his season-ending ACL tear and Brandin Podziemski has had a tough start to his sophomore season.

Schroder, meanwhile, is averaging a career-high 6.6 assists per game while shooting 38.7% from 3. While he’s undersized at 6-foot-1, he has a long wingspan and plays tough on-ball defense against point guards.

While Schroder can struggle at finishing at the rim, his in-between game is solid. He’s shooting 46% on all midrange shots this year, ranking in the 79th percentile among point guards, per Cleaning The Glass.

A feisty competitor, Schroder has experience in big games with the German national team and in 13 playoff series over the years.

With the Warriors, Schroder will likely serve as Curry’s primary backup and also play alongside him for stretches, including possibly in closing lineups.

Both Schroder and Melton are set to hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the year. Melton fit perfectly in his six games with the Warriors and was planning to rehab his surgically repaired knee with the team in the Bay Area, but using his contract to provide reinforcements now was a no-brainer for the Warriors’ front office.

Although using Melton’s salary in a trade on this scale comes with opportunity cost, the Warriors added a valuable piece while holding onto their best trade assets. They still have Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, two future first-round picks and other mid-sized salaries to package in a hypothetical trade.