While Chris Paul, Steven Adams, and Danilo Gallinari are the names most frequently mentioned with regards to potential trades, they’re not the only players that Oklahoma City is open to dealing.
Dennis Schroder could prove to be a very interesting prospect on the trade market, simply because Schroder can fill various roles depending on the needs of any team he might be traded to.
Prior to coming to Oklahoma City, Schroder showed that he can be a starting point guard as he was with the Atlanta Hawks.
This year in OKC, Schroder has thrived as the sixth-man off the bench.
When looking at potential landing spots for Schroder, wherever he would end up, as Nick Crain from Forbes pointed out, Schroder is at his best when he’s a “volume scorer”.
This season, he is a top-65 scorer in the NBA in terms of points per game at 16.8 per contest.With that being said, his 14.2 attempts per game is second on the entire Thunder team. He needs the ball in his hand and opportunities to attack to be efficient.
What makes Schroder even more appealing as a trade option is, as noted by Crain, his age and his contract.
While Schroder is undersized and not the greatest defender, he still is only 26 year old and on a manageable contract worth $15.5 million per year through the 2020-21 season.
Some possible destinations for Schroder that Crain floated are the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Orlando Magic, the Toronto Raptors, or even back to the Atlanta Hawks.
Of those, Minnesota could be an intriguing option. As Crain pointed out, “normally Schroder wouldn’t return a first-round pick”, however, if Oklahoma City sent Schroder to the Timberwolves in return for Gorgui Dieng they might.
Taking on a bad contract in Gorgui Dieng would warrant getting a first round pick in return. This would be a win-win for Minnesota who would get Dieng off their books and also get a much needed scoring guard for a playoff push of their own. Oklahoma City would receive an large, expiring contract to flip next season along with yet another first round pick.
As of yet, however, no moves for any Thunder players have been made.