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The stars aligned for the Warriors to acquire veteran guard Dennis Schröder from the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
Golden State is hard-capped at the first luxury tax apron because of the historic six-team deal they pulled off in July, which included sign-and-trades. Before Sunday's trade, the Warriors were roughly $534,000 under that apron.
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That left little room for the Warriors to take back money in a trade.
But Schröder is earning just over $203,000 more this season than De'Anthony Melton, who was sent to the Nets along with three future second-round draft picks.
With Melton out for the season due to a torn ACL and the Warriors struggling to score late in games, they jumped at the first chance -- Dec. 15 when Melton became tradeable -- to swap the salaries.
"This is the dream acquisition and not because he's a superstar player by any stretch," NBA analyst Brian Windhorst said on ESPN's "NBA Today" on Monday. "But No. 1, they really didn't go up any talent here because Melton is out for the year with the torn ACL. Brooklyn is trying to lose more and frankly, Schroder has been so good that they're winning too many games. Seriously. They're basically kind of giving them away. They're selling them for some draft picks. So that's one thing, they trade an injured guy for a guy who can help right away.
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"The second thing is they had to really thread a needle here because with where they are in their salary in the aprons. Long story short, they can only do a trade where they take on $500,000 or less in salary. They were extremely fortunate that Schröder only earns $200,000 more than Melton. So this deal actually fit, slipped underneath the apron where they were allowed, they were able to do it without losing a rotation player because because Melton was hurt. So no wonder they at the first, literally the first moment they could trade Melton on December 15th. They had this deal ready to go. They were very, very excited to pull this off."
"He is a big pickup for them. ... This is a dream acquisition."@marcjspears and @windhorstespn on Dennis Schroder joining the Warriors 🙌 pic.twitter.com/5qPcDcK1ep
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 16, 2024
After the Schröder trade, the Warriors now are $330,408 under the first tax apron, per GSW CBA.
Schröder, averaging a career-high 18.4 points per game this season, will practice with the Warriors for the first time on Tuesday and play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.
Whether Schröder will start or come off the bench remains to be seen, but Andscape's Marc J. Spears likes how the 12-year NBA veteran fits with the Warriors.
"This is a much better player than a guy with the blonde in his hair in Atlanta," Spears said on "NBA Today" on Monday. "I think this is a huge acquisition for the Warriors. They desperately have needed him over the last couple of games. Somebody to give them some extra scoring. A floor general. He makes their backcourt a little small with him and Steph, but he's coming in today. He'll be guarding Ja Morant on Thursday.
"He gives them some needed assists, needed defense. He gives them a lot of needs. A lot of things that they need right now. Some spice. His drive to the hole. Tough defender. He is a big pickup for them. Kudos to [general manager Mike] Dunleavy to fill in that Melton hole. And that's the thing they wanted to do is fill this hole for Melton. And I think they're going to be very patient about getting the next big superstar."
The Warriors will take the next few weeks to see how Schröder meshes with the roster. If Dunleavy and the front office believe another move is necessary, they will have the contracts, young talent and draft assets to make a big splash.