Dennis Schröder is a polarizing player. He very well may be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame when his career is over due to such an illustrious international career, and within the NBA, he's been an extremely solid point guard for his whole career, so why is he on his 10th team since 2018?
Maybe it's the fact that he's always on an extremely tradable contract, or perhaps it's that he's the type of player that lots of teams want on their roster heading into the playoffs. Well, with the Sacramento Kings sitting at 14th in the Western Conference, he should be available at the deadline yet again.
The Timberwolves will likely be one of the few teams checking in on him from now until February 5. He provides a gritty, in-your-face playstyle that should ideally mesh well with the Wolves' defensive identity, notably Jaden McDaniels.
Schröder is not one to back down from anyone. I say that as I am writing this while he just finished serving a three-game suspension for trying to fight Luka Doncic in the tunnel after the game. Now the Wolves don't need any of that, but the edge that he brings to the game, combined with his on-ball scoring and playmaking, would be more than useful.
Trading for Schröder is tricky
In the offseason, Schroder signed a contract for three years, $44.8 million, averaging out at $14.8 million per year. The Wolves would need to trade one of Donte DiVincenzo or Mike Conley, along with a guy like Rob Dillingham or Terrence Shannon Jr., to make the money match, and that just isn't worth it.
The most logical way for it to work out for the Wolves is to bring in a third team into the trade that has cap space, like the Brooklyn Nets, for example.
An example of a trade that would work is the Wolves Acquiring Dennis Schröder, along with Doug McDermott, and a second-round pick this year. The Kings would get Rob Dillingham and Jalen Wilson. The Nets would then receive Mike Conley (who likely gets waived) and Leonard Miller.
Would Schröder be the solution at point guard?
The addition of Schröder doesn't vault the Wolves into being the favorite to win the championship, but it would certainly be an upgrade over what they currently have at point guard. This move would also allow DiVincenzo to play off-ball, which is what he's best at.
The worst-case scenario is that the Wolves trade two guys that aren't going to be in their playoff rotation, and in that case, Schröder could just be flipped if it didn't work out.
All in all, it is a low-risk, potential high-reward trade the Wolves could look into if they strike out on the big fish.