Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green revealed that he doesn’t believe that new acquisition Dennis Schroder plays the same style of basketball as the Warriors, but that it’s something they need.
Draymond Green on the Dennis Schroder trade: “I don’t think he was necessarily brought here to fit. We play a certain style of basketball he does not really play. We need someone who can do the things he does. I’m looking forward to us adjusting to him.”
— Danny Emerman (@DannyEmerman) December 16, 2024
The Warriors acquired Schroder in a deal that sent De’Anthony Melton (who is out for the season with a knee injury) to Brooklyn.
Schroder now gives the Warriors another ball-handler that can play alongside Stephen Curry or in lineups without Curry on the floor.
According to The Athletic’s Zach Harper, Golden State’s offense has really struggled when Curry hasn’t been on the court this season.
“The Warriors’ offensive rating with Curry on the floor is an impressive 119.1 and drops to 101.7 when he’s on the bench,” Harper wrote. “That is the difference between ranking fourth or outright last this season.”
Hopefully, Schroder’s ability to handle the ball, score and create for his teammates will propel Golden State when Curry rests during games.
This season, Schroder is averaging 18.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from 3-point range.
Schroder may see his shots per game (14.1 this season in Brooklyn) drop in the Golden State offense since Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Buddy Hield and others also command the ball, but he could be a valuable piece for the franchise moving forward.
The Warriors currently hold the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, but they’ve lost eight of their last 10 games to fall to 14-11 on the season. In fact, Golden State is just 1.5 games ahead of the No. 12-seeded Sacramento Kings, so a few more losses could drop it out of the play-in tournament picture entirely.
Green, who has won four titles with Golden State, certainly knows what it takes to win at the highest level in the NBA. If he believes that Schroder’s style can work if the Warriors adjust to him, then it should be interesting to watch over the next few weeks.
Schroder has finished in the top 10 in the Sixth Man of the Year voting three times in his NBA career, so he certainly knows how to be successful in less than a lead role. It’ll be intriguing to see how he meshes with Curry, Green and the rest of the Warriors in the coming months.
