Dennis Schroder helped the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs last season, and many fans wanted to bring him back, but the team balked at the price tag, a decision that has been totally justified.
The Pistons needed a veteran point guard to take some pressure off Cade Cunningham last season, and Schroder filled the role well even though he shot the ball poorly. Schroder took care of the ball, lent a steady hand and made some big shots, but the numbers weren’t pretty overall.
There was some talk of bringing Schroder back, as the Pistons still lacked that type of veteran presence off the bench, but the genius Kings swooped in and gave him a three-year deal that was never going to come from Detroit.
It may not have been a consensus decision at the time, but it was totally the right call by the Pistons.
Dennis Schroder costs a lot of money for his production
Trajan Langdon has tried to ensure that players’ contracts match their contributions on the court and that is no longer the case for Schroder, who is averaging double digits but still shooting below 40 percent from the field, which was the case last season as well.
Schroder does have a better assist to turnover ratio than Daniss Jenkins, but otherwise, the latter is putting up far better shooting stats and offers a more dynamic all-around game. He may not have Schroder’s accolades or clutch-time history, but he’s on a minimum two-way salary while Schroder is making over $14 million a year.
And he’ll be making that for the next two seasons after this one. I can’t imagine the Kings are going to be happy paying a 34-year-old Schroder who is already showing serious signs of decline.
On a one-year deal, you can see the appeal, but for three years? This was a bad contract from the beginning that the Pistons were smart to stay far away from as they are getting the same production at a fraction of the cost.
Dennis Schroder is the trade that keeps on giving
The Pistons did a sign-and-trade with Schroder, so picked up a $14.1 trade exception that they can use to sign another player at some point.
We’ve been hoping that guy would be Malik Beasley, which is not looking promising, but the Pistons have a weapon at the trade deadline in the form of this big TPE.
They could use it to add another player (a shooter please) or to take a contract for assets to help grease a trade, so Schroder is going to help the Pistons this season even though he’s not on the roster.